In the men’s race, the all-South African pairing of Imbuko ChemChamp A Marco Joubert (RSA) and Tristan Nortje (RSA) secured their first stage win this year in front of their home crowd. Simone Avondetto (ITA) of WILIER-VITTORIA had bad luck and lost his chain only 3km before the finish line. He and his partner Luca Braidot (ITA) crossed the finish line in second with a time deficit of 14 seconds.
The current overall leaders Nino Schurter (SUI) and Filippo Colombo (SUI) of SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing had a hard day in the saddle. Filippo Colombo (SUI) struggled and lost power 15km before the finish line and they lost track to the other two teams. In the end they took third place with 1 minute 34 seconds behind the winners and keep the yellow leaders jersey by 32 seconds ahead of the decisive Grand Finale tomorrow.
The elite women’s race saw new winners as CANNONDALE ISB SPORT of Monica Calderon (COL) and Tessa Kortekaas (NED) take their first stage win in this year’s race. The clean sweep of current overall leaders Annika Langvad (DEN) and Sofia Gomez Villafane (ARG) of Toyota | Specialized ended as they finished in second with 6 minutes and 40 seconds behind the winners. They keep the orange leader’s jersey with a comfortable lead of more than 23 minutes in the GC.
| STAGE 6 – MEN | STAGE 6 – WOMEN |
| 1. Imbuko ChemChamp A – 17-1 Marco JOUBERT (RSA) & 17-2 Tristan NORTJE (RSA) 3:49:37 | 1. CANNONDALE ISB SPORT – 57-1 Monica CALDERON (COL) & 57-2 Tessa KORTEKAAS (NED) 4:47:57 |
| 2. WILIER-VITTORIA – 29-1 Luca BRAIDOT (ITA) & 9-2 Simone AVONDETTO (ITA) 3:49:51 // +14 | 2. Toyota | Specialized – 51-1 Annika LANGVAD (DEN) & 51-2 Sofia GOMEZ VILLAFANE (ARG) 4:54:37 // +6:40 |
| 3. SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing – 2-1 Nino SCHURTER (SUI) & 2-2 Filippo COLOMBO (SUI) // 3:51:11 // +1:34 | 3. Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM – 53-1 Vera LOOSER (NAM) & 53-2 Alexis SKARDA (USA) 4:55:33 // +7:36 |
