Stage 6: Remiremont to Morteau (159.5 km)
Date: Friday, August 16, 2024
Streaming: 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 Discovery+/Eurosport; 🇺🇸 Peacock; 🇦🇺 SBS; 🇨🇦 FloBikes
Start time: 11:40 CEST
Estimated finish time: 15:45 CEST
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Potential for a two-race day, with a break fighting for the stage and the GC riders fighting for time. Also potential for a GC day, albeit without massive time gaps (big day tomorrow).
Similar to the fifth stage, the sixth stage is a bit of a toss-up. With three Cat 3s, a Cat 4, a Cat 2 and a “Bonus” climb it’s the climby-est stage of the race so far, but the two stages that follow are so hard and so crucial for the general classification that the GC riders might not want to throw too much at this stage, and neither will their teams. It’s a stage where a breakaway could slip away in the early kilometres and the biggest teams in the peloton might hesitate to put too much into a chase, but the Cat 2 followed by a time-bonus climb followed by a Cat 3 within 26 km of the finish still indicates a mini-GC day.
The first Cat 3 is only 11.7 km into the stage, so riders will be breaking out their trainers to warm up on Friday morning. The Col du Mont de Fourche is 3.2 km long and averages 5.9%, with maximum gradients of 17.8% and a technical descent off the summit.
There is 63 km of calm before the next ascent, a Cat 4, which is immediately followed by a Cat 3. The Cat 3 is 5.7 km long, 4.1% average, and sits directly before the longest climb of the day. The Col de Ferrière (the Cat 4) tops out with about 68 km to go, although the summit of the climb is after the official QOM line, and signals the beginning of a challenging finale.
After descending off the Cat 3 the peloton has a small reprieve to catch their breath before they take on the Cat 2, La Roche du Prêtre is a 5.5 km climb has a 5.6% average and reaches gradients of 12%. After the official QOM line, the road continues up for a further 4 km, to where bonus seconds are on offer. A slight dip and the peloton climbs again for only 1.8 km.
After the final Cat 3 Côte des Fins, the peloton has a descent into the final 5 km of flat before the finish in Morteau.
It’s a challenging finale, but not quite enough to be a GC-only stage. Other riders will still be able to remain in contact with the top climbers, in theory, and if anything does slip away we will see a furious chase for that final 5 km to the line.
My pick: Kasia Niewiadoma. She looked great on stage 4, and although I do think this could very well be a GC day, the shorter climbs and descent before the line suit the Canyon-SRAM rider. It’s kind of a heart pick, because it will be hard for Niewiadoma to get away from Vollering, but you can never say never with Kasia.
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