The Tour de France continues with another rugged day out on stage six, this time a 201km run from Bayeux to Vire Normandie crossing varied and bumpy Norman terrain.
One of just two stages in this year’s route over 200km long, it’s set to be an exhausting day in the saddle, with six categorised climbs - five cat-threes and a final cat-four - alongside plenty more unofficial lumps in the road.
In total that accounts for 3,500m of climbing, with any numbers of riders able to capitalise on the difficult terrain - and many others set for a bruising and unpleasant day out as they wait for the next sprint day.
This one looks set for a breakaway, but we said that about stage four - a stage with a similarly hilly, punchy finish - and it was the general classification riders instead who contested that won, with Tadej Pogacar coming out on top.
Today’s route is more difficult all day, so the GC men may be content to sit further back and let the puncheurs battle it out for the victory.
But those who struggled in Wednesday’s time trial may feel the need to claw back some time, too. In short, once again, it could be anyone’s game, with the 700m, 10% gradient uphill drag to the line suiting the more explosive climbers in the bunch.
Route map and profile
Start time
An earlier start for this one: the neutralised start will be at 12.35pm local time, 11.35am BST, with the finish expected at 5.15pm local time (4.15pm BST).
Prediction
Like on stage four, there are any number of riders who could find some joy in Vire Normandie today. Tadej Pogacar loves a climb and a stage win, particularly in yellow, and the 10% gradient on the final climb will appeal to him - if the GC teams control the stage, which UAE certainly tend to do whenever the big man has a victory in his sights.
Mathieu van der Poel equally excels on punchy terrain, while the likes of Romain Gregoire - fifth on stage four - would be a popular winner among the French crowd. But let’s go with Kevin Vauquelin, for the sake of being different. The Bayeux-born rider will surely fancy a win on his home roads, and after a brilliant performance in yesterday’s time trial - a fifth on the stage moving him up to third overall - should be brimming with confidence.
