TDF Stage 6 Race Report and Results 2014 Tour De France

Stage 6:

  

194k from Arras to Reims; flat.

2 cat-4 climbs on the course. Nine traffic circles to navigate in the finale.

Cloudy at start/mostly rainy later; 60 f; frequent rain.

Stage 6 profile

DNS: Richeze (LAM)

Stage 6 on the map

Today the race commemorates 100 years since the start of World War I. Today's route covers ground that saw a lot of military misery a hundred years ago. The peloton will pass several landmarks, cemeteries and memorial sites on the way to Reims.

Yesterday more than 40 riders are reported to have crashed. Perhaps surprisingly, Froome was the only abandon on stage 5. So, no one who crashed on the cobbles was forced to abandon the race. And, as I said yesterday, most of the crashes happened on the wet traffic circles. So I refute any argument that rain-soaked, slick cobbles are too dangerous to be included in the French grand tour. The streets and the roundabouts were much more perilous yesterday. Does anybody like those roundabouts?

My girlfriend, Emily pointed out that the images of the peloton riding through the roundabouts has become sort of iconic in cycling broadcasting; so maybe they belong as much to the cycling aesthetic as cobblestones. It's a point I had not considered. I will put up a poll asking who thinks the cobblestones should be excluded from the Tour De France...

Today's Break (4):

Jerome Pineau (IAM), Tom Leezer (BEL), Luis Mate (COF), and Arnaud Gerard (BSE).

Second time Mate has made the break (stage 4).

They build a lead of about 4:15.

John Degenkolb has a torn gluteal muscle. He won't be much help in the Giant-Shimano lead-out train for Kittel today.

km 80: With about 115k left to ride, the escapees have a lead of 2:53 over the peloton.

TO READ ON, JUST CLICK THE TINY WORDS "Read more" just below these words...

Stage 6 Preview 2013 Vuelta a España

I regret that I am unable to commit as much time this month to blogging about the Vuelta a España as I did for the previous tours. But I hope everyone is enjoying the race, and I will post when I can. Here's what I've got today:

Stage 6 heads south

First, I am happy that Time Warner Cable did something good for what seems like the first time ever, and finally made a deal last month to bring Universal Sports onto my channel lineup, so I can watch the Vuelta on TV in HD.  Of course it is part of the extended sports package I started paying for when the Giro d’Italia started being covered by beIN TV in the spring. I am not intentionally plugging these networks, just throwing the info out there in case anyone is looking for TV coverage in their area.

 

Matthews nabs a stage win in his first Grand Tour

So stage 5 went down as expected, with the peloton catching the five-man break, and Orica’s Michael Matthews taking the stage win ahead of Maximiliano Richeze and Gianni Meersman, and most of the Vuelta’s other few dedicated sprinters. The Argos train put on another powerful display, delivering Niklas Arndt to a perfect finishing position, but the speed of Orica’s 22-year old Matthews was too much for anyone on Wednesday.

 

Stage 6 Profile

The final 5k finish route

Without a single categorized climb on the course and a flat finish, Thursday’s stage 6 from Guijuelo to Cáceres should end in another bunch sprint, one even more amenable to the fast men than stage 5. There are half a dozen turns for the riders to negotiate in the final four kilometers, the last one is about 500m from the line, so that should make for a decent stretch to get up to speed on. Look for the same gaggle of sprinters to contest the finish.

Last 5k of stage 6

 Stage 5’s top ten finishers were all sprinters. But the 11^th through 20^th place finishers included seven climbers/GC contenders. That demonstrates first of all how important it is for the overall contenders to stay in front and out of trouble in a fast finish, but also how few sprinters have come to pick over the few trimmings available to them on this parcours. 

I expect tomorrow’s top ten to look a lot like today’s. Favorites will again be Matthews and Meersman, but Richeze and Arndt have thrown their names in to the mix as well. I think Matthews could win again, but predicting him would be no fun, so my prediction for stage 6 is that Tyler Farrar will improve his result to a podium finish.

Stage 6 Report and Results 2013 Tour De France

Stage 6 in southern France

176k from Aix-En-Provence to Montpellier; flat

Sunny, hot, dry, windy

Winds 15-20 mph; 88 f (31 c)

Toward the end, the Mistral winds should pick up;

193 riders will start today.

 

Stage 5 injuries (with two non-starters today):

*Van Den Broeck: injured knee   DNS 6

Bouet: fractured wrist    DNS 6

Zubeldia: broke bone in left hand

Bouhanni: both shoulders and left thigh damaged

Vande Velde: blood clot in neck, loose collarbone screw

*Hesjedal: cracked rib from stage 1 crash

Danielson: scrapes and bruises

Klöden: hurt right calf

Van Garderen: bumps and bruises

Schär: endo, stressed patellar tendon, bumps and bruises;

*Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte found tacks in their tires after stage 5.

Stage 6 location

TO THE ACTION:

A lone breakaway rider today: Luis Angel Mate (COF) escaped at the start.

With 144k to go Mate leads the peloton by 5:00

-133k: Mate sits up after a mechanical issue, and is picked up by the peloton.

Gruppo compatto

-120k: Quintana hits the pavement; gets back on, and receives attention from medical car;

INT SPR (km 63):

1.    Greipel 2. Cavendish 3. Kristoff 4. Sagan 5. Steegmans 6. Flecha 7. Sabatini 8. Kwiatkowski 9. Chavanel 10. D. Van Poppel 11. Velits 12. Bookwalter 13. Tuft 14. Burghardt 15. Lancaster

Stage 6 Profile

Bouhanni is suffering on the bike. He has been distanced by the pack;

Km 68: KOM 1 cat-4 Col de la Vayede

1.    Siutsou

-100k: Peloton still together; Bouhanni trails by 3:00; His Tour may be coming to an early end.

Most of the rest of the route will probably see strong winds upsetting the pace;

-88k: Bouhanni, last year’s French road champ, abandons the race before the feed zone.

 Click "Read more" to continue...

Stage 6 Preview 2013 Tour De France

Stage 6 continues west to Montpellier

Stage 6 from Aix-En-Provence to Montpellier should be another one for the sprinters. A mostly flat stage with only one categorized climb, and it is a cat-4, and it comes with over 100k left to ride. At 176 kilometers in length stage 6 should be an average day with a bunch sprint finish.

I am going with Cavendish tomorrow. His lead-out train was impressive today, and he is certainly a top favorite for stage 6. With four of my first five picks coming in second, I am hoping to break the pattern. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 80’s (around 30 c) for Thursday’s stage 6, so keeping hydrated and preventing overheating will be important.

Stage 6 Profile

I will do the best I can to post regularly over the July 4 holiday. Fortunately stage 7 looks like another sprint, but stage 8 to Ax 3 Domaines is when the real fun begins!