2023 Vuelta Femenina Stage 6 | Highlights

Report

Gaia Realini went head to head with the world champion on stage 6 of La Vuelta Femenina and WON after a spectacular sprint to the line. The 21-year-old pipped Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) to the line after a thrilling two-up sprint finish to secure the first UCI WorldTour win of her career.

Realini saw an opportuntiy and seized it on the Puerto de Campo El Hayal, the second of two cateogirzed climbs in the final 50 kilometers of the stage, jumping across to a move from van Vleuten which saw the climbing powerhouses leave the rest of the field left to chase them if they wanted to claim the day’s spoils.

Ultimately, the duo still had a strong advantage of more than one minute 15 seconds going into the final five kilometers and it proved to me more than enough to allow them to fight for victory with Realini doing what many might not have expected but Trek-Segafredo believed possible… winning!

However, what happened after the finish was potentially more complicated than the race itself!

At first, Realini was declared the winner in race radio and headed to the podium however, with the call on the line so close, the photo finish was put under a microscope.

The first look saw van Vleuten take the podium however upon closer inspection the jury declared that the young Italian was victorious after all and she got to have her moment on the top step.

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