Stage 6 is another day for what's left of the sprinters. After all of the action of the past couple days this course might be a chance for the GC teams to take a breather and let the Sprint teams do the majority of the work. The course starts in Vesoul and travels northwest over a lumpy 216 km to finish in Troys.
| Stage Type | Flat |
|---|---|
| Stage Distance | 216.13 km |
| Estimated Time | 04:58:22 |
| Avg. Peloton Speed | 43.46 km/h |
| Avg. Pulling Power | 331.12 watts |
| Avg. Pulling Yaw | 4.08 ° |
If the weather forecast holds up the first 2/3 of the course will be a strong crosswind which will allow for ample opportunities for breakaways. The last 1/3 of the course shifts to a headwind, though it should lighten up considerably. Scroll across the chart to see the wind direction indicator move relative to the rider's position.
Look for breaks early in the crosswinds. These riders will try to gobble up the early points, with two Cat 4 climbs and an intermediate sprint. The power sprinter teams will make sure to keep the breaks on a leash and pull them back in for the finish which sets up great for a big power sprinter like Marcel Kittel. There is a round-about at just under 1 km to go and a left before the flat run in. Depending on the blockage there could be a bit of a headwind on the run in so if it's timed right staying in the slipstream till the last possible move could win the day for someone like Greipel or Demare.
Analysis was performed by modeling the peloton as a single rider using front of the pack drag characteristics and pulling power targets. Take a look at the entire race plan that was used for this analysis, which includes additional features, metrics and downloadable files.
Stage 6 Race Plan: https://www.bestbikesplit.com/client/71531