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Watch it in the US: Peaco*ck ($5.99/month or $59.99/year)
Watch it in Canada: FloBikes ($29.99/month CDN)
Watch it in the UK: Eurosport and Discovery+ (£59.99/year)
In the US, CNBC Sports will also air Stages 7 and 8. CNBC’s race coverage is available on cable and the following platforms: Hulu with Live TV, Fubo, YouTubeTV, and DirecTV.
Start Times: 7:50 a.m.
Estimated Finish Time: 9:00 a.m.
Preview & How to Watch Jersey Contenders Stage-By-Stage Results
Just shy of a century ride, the hilly Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes is the last “easy” day the riders will have before they head into the mountains. With the huge shakeup in Stage 5 that moved Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) from the Yellow Jersey position and put her in defense mode as Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) moved into the lead for the first time, Stage 6 is guaranteed to be exciting.
Here’s what you need to know before you tune in:
Date: Friday, August 16
Distance: 159.2
Start location: Remiremont
Finish location: Morteau
Weather: Scattered thunderstorms that could make for wet, sketchy roads
Stage 6: Remiremont > Morteau
159.2 km (99 mi) and 2,222 m (7,290 ft) of elevation
How hard is Stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes?
In a few words, it will be really hard… for some of the riders. Individual riders hoping to finish high in the GC rankings will be preserving as much energy as possible while still not losing time, making it a great day for breakaway attempts, but a bad day to be a domestique tasked with closing down said breakaway attempts. And Vollering will be gunning for a victory that will put her back in Yellow, so her SD Worx-Protime teammates will be working hard.
Stage 6 is just under 100 miles in length, and while none of the climbs are overly challenging, there are two categorized climbs and nearly 15 miles of uphill in the final third of the race, so expect the lead group to get whittled down as riders fall off the pace.
There is one categorized sprint at the 100-kilometer mark, so expect riders like Charlotte Kool (dsm-Firmenich PostNL), Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)—the top contenders for the Green Sprinter’s Jersey—to hold on until at least that point in the race, especially since it’s the last stage before the mountains.
What will the weather be like for Stage 6, and how can it affect the race?
Rain showers in the morning will give way to scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. The high will be 76°F. Winds will be light and variable. The chance of rain is 50 percent.
Rain in the forecast could make for an interesting race, as we saw on the very slick Stage 4. Those riders who feel comfortable riding in wet conditions may go for the breakaway attempts, while other teams may focus on staying safe and keeping time gaps manageable for the next two stages.
Who can win Stage 6?
Hilly stages are great because they could just as easily end in a sprint finish with most of the peloton intact or can end up splintered apart into small groups. There’s always potential for a solo finish or a stunning sprint like we saw on Stage 4 when Puck Pieterse nipped past race leader Vollering and then second place in the GC Niewiadoma at the line.
We won’t be shocked about a breakaway with Vollering in the mix, though she may decide to save her watts for the mountains on Saturday and Sunday. With Kristen Faulkner (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) sitting high in the GC right now, we could also see her team pushing for that stage win for their gold medalist team leader.
And, of course, this race has been a young rider’s game, with Pieterse and Stage 5’s winner Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) both capturing stage wins, so seeing that White Best Young Rider’s jersey towards the front won’t surprise any of us at this point.
How can Stage 6 affect the GC?
The hilly stages are where the sneaky time gaps can open! Right now, Vollering has lost serious time to Niewiadoma and has moved all the way down to ninth place in the GC. That means Vollering will be desperately trying to take back the lead or close that gap, but the confidence that comes from wearing the yellow jersey could make a difference to Niewiadoma.
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