Two days ago he was one step away from retiring, yesterday on the Puerto del Garbi the Contador of his best years was seen again: repeated shots in his famous "en danseuse" position, the Spanish champion, in his last race before his farewell to cycling, he put all the noblest company of the Vuelta to the whip, a jolt that set stage six on fire and which could have had a much greater impact on the standings if Chris Froome, the only one to resist him, had lent a hand to the action of the Gunslinger. There were still about forty kilometers left before the arrival in Sagunto, perhaps also for this reason the British red jersey didn't feel like spending more energy than necessary. In the long descent Contador's attack was exhausted, but the impression of a champion who wants to be a protagonist until the end remained: he won't win his fourth Vuelta, but the balance of the race appears more and more.
Nibali, Aru and Chaves, who had been surprised by the repeated attacks of the leader of Trek-Segafredo, returned with another twenty riders, all busy, but without succeeding, in recapturing the three survivors of the 28 of the maxi-break which characterized the day. The fraction ended with the success of the Pole Thomas Marczynski in the sprint ahead of his compatriot Pawel Poljanski and the Spaniard Enric Mas. Only Romain Bardet jumped among the big names, finishing in the rear of the race, with a gap of almost 7 minutes at the finish line. Only Warren Barguil remained to defend the French colours, 13th in the general standings at 1'43” from Froome. Teejay Van Garderen also risked finishing out of the standings, victim of a frightening crash about fifteen km from the finish, but the American managed to contain the delay from the red jersey in a handful of seconds, despite going to the ground a second time, sliding in one of the many roundabouts at the gates of Sagunto. Carlos Betancur was also involved in Van Garderen's first carom, suffering injuries and traumas that forced the Colombian to abandon the Vuelta.
