Simmons wins bizarre sixth stage of the Tour of Catalonia after just 25 kilometers of racing due to dangerous winds

The sixth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Catalonia was won by Quinn Simmons. The American rider from Lidl-Trek launched an attack in the final kilometer and narrowly held off the fast-approaching sprinters in what turned out to be a bizarre stage. What was supposed to be a tough mountain stage ended up being heavily reduced, with only 25 kilometers of racing and all climbs scrapped due to strong winds.

Stage six starts and was originally set to finish in the city of Berga, with a mountainous loop in between and a final climb to the top. However, the organizers have now announced that the final ascent is off the table. The difficult Coll del Pradell had already been scrapped, shortening the stage to 118.6 kilometers. The Collada de Sant Isidre and the climb to Queralt were still scheduled to feature, but even that is now in doubt as well. The wind is so strong that the organization is looking at alternatives.

Organizers were then aiming to finish in Berga, at the base of the climb. “Following the recommendations of the Catalan traffic service and the relevant authorities, and the Tour of Catalonia has been forced to shorten stage six due to the activation of the VENTCAT emergency plan,” the organization said in a press release. “As a result, this 6th stage will be shortened in distance, and it will not be possible to climb the Coll del Pradell because its summit is at an altitude of 1,700 meters, where the hazards are more severe.”

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Michael Storer won the shortened queen stage in Paris–Nice, where wintry conditions made racing difficult.

146 kilometers, neutralized first lap

In the earlier announcement, the organizers stated that the uphill finish to Queralt would still go ahead, but Esciclismo now reports that the final climb has also been canceled. This was later confirmed by the race organizers. The Coll de la Batallola would be the only climb on the program, to be tackled twice. One lap was chosen as the solution, skipping the climbs to Sant Isidre and Queralt entirely. The finish is now in Berga, where the intermediate sprint was originally supposed to take place. The total stage distance ended up being 146 kilometers.

The first lap was also ridden at a neutralized pace. Riders followed behind the race director’s car, and after completing the first lap—about 70 kilometers—it was decided whether the conditions were safe enough to continue racing. In the end, it was decided that only 25 kilometers of racing would take place. Times were taken with 5 kilometers to go, and no bonus seconds were awarded at the finish.

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Van den Broek attacks immediately

And just like that, racing was underway—in a very unusual way. It was chaos from the start: Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) was the first to attack. He opened a small gap together with Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek), Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), but in such a short race, making a decisive move was going to be difficult. Verona and Van den Broek then rode away from their breakaway companions, but the Dutchman refused to take turns, with his sprinter Pavel Bittner still in the bunch. As a result, they were caught in the final 10 kilometers.

And so the entire peloton headed together toward the finish in Berga. INEOS Grenadiers worked hard for Axel Laurance, especially with the dominant Matthew Brennan not starting the stage. The sprinters weren’t given an easy ride though—Nairo Quintana (Movistar), among others, tried to get away. It was complete chaos, and a group of around ten riders managed to break clear in the final four kilometers. In the last kilometer, Quinn Simmons launched his move at the perfect moment. The American narrowly held off the charging Bittner to take the win.

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