This year's course for the Vuelta a España is sort of like an expanding helium balloon, as the peloton goes deeper into the three weeks and further south into Spain, the climbing continues to grow. However, stage 6 delivers a rush of intrigue with gravel making a return on the final climb of a mountain day in northern Valencia.
The Vuelta calls this 177.4km route on August 27 "ambush territory". Canadian climber and three-time Vuelta stage winner Michael Woods calls this "compelling, interesting, high drama", but those superlatives are more for race spectators and television viewers, not the pro riders.
