Schachmann proves himself in one last breakaway before the grand finale in Montjuïc
March 24 th 2018 - 09:44
Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) won the sixth stage of the "Volta" a Catalunya, which was eventually battled out on a 117.5 kilometre long course between La Pobla de Segur and Torrefarrera due to adverse weather conditions and potential snow on the original starting line in Vielha, Vall d'Aran, and the mountain passes. The young German rider beat his breakaway companion, Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH), on the line, with whom he had pulled away on kilometre 15 of the stage.
The rain was the protagonist of this penultimate day of racing in Catalonia, in which there was no dispute for the general classification, which still has Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) at the very top. By contrast, it was the sprinters’ teams, especially Mitchelton-Scott, the South-African champion Daryl Impey’s team, that worked hard to control the distance of the breakaway, starting with the Coll d’Àger (second category climb), the only climb with points of the day.
Nonetheless, the two breakaway riders crossed the finish line 18 seconds ahead of the pack with the race favourites, which arrived split up as a result of the echelons from the strong wind in the last 20 kilometres. Practically none of the favourites were involved, but the group cycled at a high pace which made the endurance of the two riders who crossed the line ahead of the pack all the more impressive. In the end, it was the 24 year-old German rider who clinched his first WorldTour victory.
“It’s hard to say that I expected to win. I knew that I was going to give it a shot. I already tried to be in the breakaway yesterday. In stages as short as this, there are always more options that breakaway riders can win, even with just two riders. The roundabouts in the last kilometres really worked in our favour to maintain the gap, and I entered the last kilometre in a better position to battle it out for the stage victory” said Schachmann in a press conference after picking up a second victory for his team in this “Volta”.
As for Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), he will have to tackle Sunday’s last stage on the traditional Montjuïc circuit with a 16 second advantage over Egan Bernal (Team Sky) and 26 seconds over Nairo Quintana. “It wasn’t a comfortable stage, it got really cold. There wasn’t much movement, and we had a pretty hard time, we had to put up with enough as it is” said the rider from Murcia about the sixth stage. “If it rains tomorrow, it won’t be as cold as it was today. I’m fairly relaxed about the final stage in Montjuïc tomorrow: always with respect towards my rivals, but I’ve been leader for several days and getting nervous is not going to help in any way. The main priority is to win the race”, declared Valverde, who tomorrow, could win his third “Volta”.
