23-year-old Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) won the short and punchy final sixth stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco to the summit finish of Arrate today, which featured eight categorised climbs for a total of 3000 metres of elevation as Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) hung on to win overall.

Heavy rain and low temperatures accompanied the riders throughout the stage right from the start in Eibar and eased off a bit only in the final hour, when the escapees’ group got fragmented on the Izua climb, as only a handful of riders were left at the front. With the gap dipping down to one minute, the bunch looked in pole position to fight for the win, but two solid attacks of Mas brought the front group back to life.

It was on the last of the eight ascents that Mas accelerated from the breakaway and quickly gained 15 seconds on his former companions. From the yellow jersey group, Movistar went on the attack, first with Nairo Quintana, and then with Mikel Landa, who began his pursuit of Mas.

Arrate, which was climbed from the harder side, included sections of 15%, but Quick-Step Floors’ rider was never in trouble, as he looked composed and got over the top with a 12-second advantage which he increased until the finish, shredding any doubt about who the day’s winner will be.

Roglic had gone into the final stage with a lead of 1’57” over Landa, and despite the Spaniard’s best efforts he wasn’t able to overcome this deficit to take over the leader’s jersey. Roglic finished 48″ behind Landa to take the overall win.

Enric Mas – “What can I say? I have always dreamt of winning this stage and now that I did it, I am happy, very happy to break the ice in this amazing race and in such a manner. The last climb was crazy, people were cheering for me, they were yelling my name and showing me their support, it was like being at a concert. It’s a fantastic season for our team, we are on a roll and we hope to add many more victories to the ones scored so far.”

“I had my eyes on this stage from the beginning of the week and after yesterday, where I felt really good but lost some time, I knew I wanted to try something. This morning, we decided that I should give it a go, so I joined the break. On the last climb, as I was riding alone, I heard in the radio that Landa and Quintana were chasing me, but remained confident and pushed really hard in the final two kilometres, gaining some more time and keeping the gap all the way to the finish”, Mas said after the podium ceremony.”

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