Stage 6 – Binche to Longwy – 219.9km – Thursday, July 7

No rest for the battered and weary after the Tour’s pivotal cobbles stage: it’s followed by the longest of the race, and the Tour’s first uphill finish. The 219.9km route essentially traces the Franco-Belge border on a southeast trajectory, taking the race toward the Vosges region and the first summit finish on Stage 7.

But today is all about the short, sharp climbs, in particular the Category 3 Côte de Pulventeux just before the finish and then the climb to the line in Longwy. The Pulventeux isn’t much of a climb, at just 800 meters long. But it features a 12-percent gradient and the crest is a mere 5km from the finish, so it’s an ideal launching pad for a late-race move.

We’d expect to see an early breakaway, although one rider we don’t think will factor is EF’s Magnus Cort. With just three minor climbs, his KoM lead is safe, and he deserves a day off after four straight stages in the break. The sprinters’ teams will also sit this stage out, and with its length and spot in the race—after the cobbles stage but just before Friday’s first true summit finish on the “Super” Planches des Belles Filles climb—it’s a likely candidate for another long breakaway success.

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Any number of other riders will be looking for the late-race catch and counterattack on or near the Pulventeux. Much of the dynamic will come down to whether the break gets a big lead it can defend and which teams do the chasing. Again, expect the sprinters teams and the banged-up Jumbo-Visma team of race leader Wout van Aert to take it pretty easy, so other teams will have to step up. If the frontrunners are within reach, the race behind will be spicy in the final 20km. If not, expect a ceasefire.

The finish is tricky. The descent off the Pulventeux isn’t steep, but features a hairpin around 3km to go. The ramp to the finish starts not long after that, with its own switchback coming with around 800 meters to go and just after a short, steep section of 11 percent gradient. Positioning here will be key, so expect a fight among the GC riders who were taught a sharp lesson on Stage 4 when a small group of favorites briefly got clear on the final climb. If anyone is caught out, rivals may try to take a few seconds, and if the stage win itself (and the 10/6/4-second bonuses for the podium) is in play, it’ll be a chaotic fight.

Riders to Watch

After the chaotic, rough-and-tumble Roubaix stage, many riders will be looking for a day off. But it’s the Tour, and any number of stage hunters will be on the move. Movistar has been fairly quiet thus far and that could change on this stage. Lotto-Soudal’s Tim Wellens is a good candidate for a long-range move, and Trek-Segafredo might be active as well with Toms Skujins or Quinn Simmons after just missing the win on Stage 5. If the break is caught, then GC riders will be worth keeping an eye on as well as puncheur-style finishers like Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious), and Ag2r’s Bob Jungels and Benoit Cosnefroy.

When to Watch

It’s roughly the final 20km of this one that’s going to be most interesting. The size of the gap to a breakaway there will tell us a lot about what to expect over the race’s final 30 minutes. If it’s under a minute, they’ll likely get caught; over two minutes, they’ll likely stay clear, and anywhere in between is a toss-up. If your feed is running by a little after 16h30, you’ll catch all the fireworks.