The Catalan round in its 6th stage manages to give once again a great show by the Colombians Nairo Quintana and Sergio Higuita who have been at the forefront in the fight for the general during all the days of the race where they have been able to stand out.
Even in the two days of high mountain and that proposed the high end, both got the best out of their repertoire as climbers looking to win the stages. Although it was not possible, Quintana managed to put on the leader's shirt while behind in the standings Joao Almeida and Sergio Higuita followed him very closely with just a few thousandths of a second in the case of the Portuguese and a few seconds on Higuita's side.
Even so Nairo could not keep the shirt for more than a day and gave it to Almeida who added 1 second in one of the flying goals given that he passed first than the Boyacense. So Arkea, Nairo's team, had to start looking for another strategy that would put Quintana back at the top of the standings, but it was very difficult against a Sergio Higuita who dared to launch an attack from afar this Saturday.
Rigoberto Urán's former teammate at the EF Education EasyPost, Sergio Higuita, now at the Bora Hansgrohe in Germany, has had one of his best presentations since his arrival on the WorldTour in 2019, also being the strongest candidate to win the 101st edition of the Vuelta a Catalunya, this would be the first race he won at the level professional and with his new team.
These were Higuita's words as he climbed to the podium as the most important runner in the general standings:
Higuita will now have to fight the last big battle against his rivals this Sunday in a rather complicated stage that will have 138.6 km in the same Catalan capital, Barcelona, which will have some important uncategorized promotions to the first 25, 41 and 56 km, and then enter a circuit area where he should be very careful when traveling on urban roads.
The shot will be given after the platoon gives 5 laps to Alt de Castell de Montjuic, a promotion that will be 2nd category and very explosive.
Nairo Quintana, for his part, could seek to get back on the podium if he tries an escape that will allow him to get 2 seconds from Portuguese Joao Almeida of UAE Team Emirates who is third, 52 seconds behind Higuita, while Nairo is 53 seconds away. The Boyacense referred to Higuita's feat with these words:
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