Our squad animated the stage from both the breakaway and the bunch.
Stage six, from Saint-Vulbas to Crest-Voland, was set to be a big day for the GC men, with a pair of first-category climbs stacked in the final 20 kilometers. Racing kicked off fully the moment the flag was dropped, and to the surprise of many, the peloton split just a few kilometers into the stage, leaving a massive 60-man group up the road. With a few exceptions, all teams were represented there, including Soudal Quick-Step, who had Ethan Hayter, Pepijn Reinderink, Martin Svrcek and Mauri Vansevenant.
The opening hour of the race was a fast one, and the breakaway managed to build a comfortable gap of almost five minutes by the time they took on the penultimate climb, which put them in a good position to fight for the stage victory, despite the fact that several squads were leading the chase. Many were expecting a move from the yellow jersey favorites on Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine, but instead it was Valentin Paret-Peintre who attacked one kilometer from the top, surging clear from the bunch and linking up with Reinderink and Vansevenant, who helped him build a 15-second gap over the depleted field.
Paret-Peintre held onto that margin until the final ascent, where the GC condensers attacked and caught him, setting out in pursuit of the remaining riders in the front group. The gap separating them proved to be too big, shaking up the overall standings in a way that nobody envisioned before the stage - that was eventually won by Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) - and this will make the final two stages of the race, which Valentin Paret-Peintre will start as the team’s best-placed rider, even more interesting.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
