Tour de France Stage 6
Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse
199.5km
Start: 12:40 p.m. (6:40 a.m. U.S. EST)
Estimated Finish: 5:16 p.m. (11:16 a.m. U.S. EST)

COURSE: Despite some early hills through the Burgundy and Côte d’Or wine country, this transitional stage closes with 45km of long, flat roads into the center of Bourg-en-Bresse – where a mass sprint seems certain. Bourg is a city of 40,000 people that’s the capital of the Ain department.

HISTORY: There has been just one stage finish in Bourgen-Bresse. That was in 2002, when stage 18 ended in a three-man sprint taken by Norway’s Hushovd from Frenchman Christophe Mengin and Denmark’s Jakob Piil.

FAVORITES: Crosswinds may be a factor in splitting the peloton over the final hour of racing and could result in a different kind of finish, albeit a group sprint. This could be good for McEwen, Hushovd or Förster, but Bennati and Boonen, with their powerful lead-out trains, are the favorites to win.

Climbs:
Km 55: Côte de Grandmont: 2.4km climb @ 5.1% avg. grade / 4th Cat.
Km 138: Col de Brancion: 3.5km climb @ 3.6% avg. grade / 4th Cat.

Sprints:
Km 51.5: Bligny-Sur-Ouche

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