Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma), who had led in the Vuelta a España, continued his dramatic run in stage 6. With rain continuing to fall and a cold, wet descent expected before the final climb to Formigal, the race leader had trouble putting on his rain jacket and slowed his pace on the category 2 Cote Fabro. Rivals accelerated ahead of the peloton, and Roglic rejoined the peloton at the base of the climb, but the effort devastated the Jumbo Visma team. When race leader Richard Kalapas (Ineos Grenadiers), Marc Soler (Movistar), and Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) attacked in the last few kilometers, Roglic was forced to go on the defensive.

Logrich, who entered the stage with a five-second lead over Dan Martin (Israel Startup Nation), the Tour de France runner-up, would eventually fall to fourth overall after giving up a 43-second lead to Calapaz. In addition to Ineos' leadership, Dan Martin and Kersee gave the Jumbo-Visma rider time to pull away from him in the overall standings.

"Today didn't go as expected," Roglic said after the stage.

"On the descent of the last climb, I had a problem with my clothing. I had to use every means to get back. But on the last climb, I didn't have much legs left to fight the attack. I gave everything I had

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Today we lost a bit. The Vuelta is not over yet and we will keep fighting until Madrid," added a combative Roglic.

Sports director Grischa Niermann offered a more candid account of what happened on the road. As the red jersey group entered the final climb, their pursuit left Roglic with only George Bennett to assist him.

"This was a big mistake on our part and it shouldn't have happened," Niermann said.

"We could have resolved the situation as a team, but we couldn't do more. It's a shame. It was a bad day. The race is not over yet. We still have a lot of chances and of course we will keep fighting until the end."

Nearman picked up the acceleration of Ineos Grenadier at the front of the race, but it was Movistar who set the pace on the final climb. The coach condemned both for their unsportsmanlike conduct, pointing instead to his own team's mistakes.

"Primosch had to take his rain jacket at the top of the climb, but he couldn't put it on or close it. It was very cold. On the descent, Ineos attacked and the group split. He fell off.

"It was very disappointing and a mistake by the group. At that point you can't just drop back, but it happened and it took a big effort to bring him back. In the end, we lost a lot of time. Attacks like that can happen and we have to be aware of that. It is our responsibility."

Despite the blow, Roglic is still 30 seconds behind the overall lead held by Karapas, and with the majority of the stages in favor of GC and the time trial still to come, the Slovenian is far from out of this situation. However, the defending champion cannot afford any more mistakes. The Vuelta is still wide open. I'd rather be five seconds ahead than 30 seconds behind, but we still have the time trial and we're still in a good position," Niermann said.