Cycling: Also on the sixth day of the Tour de France the riders are on the road in Brittany. As in a mini-series, tomorrow will be the grand finale. Because the Mûr-de-Bretagne is the first small - very small - mountain finish of this year's Tour of France. We take a look at who can benefit from this short climb in our daily Tour de France preview.
2 x Mur-de-Bretagne
Fire free for the puncheur and mountaineer! Even though there were already several mountain classifications today, the battle of the classification riders will begin tomorrow. After the start in Brest and a ten-kilometer neutralization, the pros drive 181,0 kilometers eastwards into the interior of the country. The Côte de Ploudiry (3rd category / 1,5 km at 7,0%) and the Côte de Roc'h Trévézel (4th category / 2,5 km at 3,5%) await you there. After Sprint classification in Plouguernével the pace will probably not slow down any more. Because already 16 kilometers before the finish, the Mur-de-Bretagne (3rd category / 2,0 km at 6,9%) are crossed for the first time. Three kilometers later it is there bonus sprint on the program before heading up the dreaded Mûr-de-Bretagne again. The drivers are expected at the finish between 17 and 18 p.m. It's quite possible that we'll be a bit smarter than the day before when it comes to the yellow jersey.
The Mûr-de-Bretagne can provide distances
Even if the Mur-de-Bretagne is not particularly long and not particularly steep, it can certainly provide for small time intervals. A finish of the Tour de France was held there in 2011 and 2015. At that time, for example, Vincenzo Nibali and Andy Schleck lost valuable seconds to their opponents. The winners were Alexis Vuillermoz and Cadel Evans. Also this season it is to be expected that the punchers and the climbers will fight for the day's victory. In our Tour de France preview of the sixth stage, we are betting on a tough battle between well-known professionals.
Velomotion prognosis: Alaphilippe, Valverde and Yates in the role of favourites
The Mûr-de-Bretagne should certainly not be underestimated, but it is simply too short and too easy for large time gaps between the favorites. One or two gaps will open up and there will be winners and losers tomorrow, but we don't believe in a clash between the top favorites. Rather, it will be about not wasting any time on the competition. Only the escapees or strong punchers can win the stage anyway. Here we fall first Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), who have already dueled at the Flèche Wallonne. The terrain is just as perfect for them as it is for the Brit Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott). But also Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) can be trusted to keep up to the end. Self greg van avermaet (BMC) we must not write off. There Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R La Mondiale) was already victorious at the Mûr-de-Bretagne in 2015, he will also have high hopes for tomorrow. We're betting on Julian Alaphilippe in our Tour de France preview, continuing Quick-Step Floors' success story in the Grand Tours.
***Julian Alaphilippe
**Alejandro Valverde, Adam Yates
* Peter Sagan, Philippe Gilbert, Alexis Vuillermoz
