A day for sprinters today, especially given the lack of enthusiasm that teams have for the breakaway at the moment.
The Course
It's a fairly straightforward course here, rolling terrain for the parts of the day that aren't flat, and there should be a bunch sprint finish at the end. The finish is non-technical and the sprint slopes up for the last 600m at 2.5%.
Very pleasant, wram weather for the riders today, with moderate sou' west-westerly, which will be a crosswind initially and shift to a cross-tailwind.
It's a fairly straightforward course here, rolling terrain for the parts of the day that aren't flat, and there should be a bunch sprint finish at the end. The finish is non-technical and the sprint slopes up for the last 600m at 2.5%.
Very pleasant, wram weather for the riders today, with moderate sou' west-westerly, which will be a crosswind initially and shift to a cross-tailwind.
The Tactics
Not much to say here, the breakaway probably won't be too optimistic of their chances today, and it will be a day for the sprinters at the finish.
The sprint point comes earlier than normal in this stage, and may entice the teams of the sprinters to engage in some interesting tactics, like putting a points jersey candidate in the breakaway or do an advance move with teammates, but that seems unlikely with a sprint finish in prospect, which they will want to save their energy for.
Not much to say here, the breakaway probably won't be too optimistic of their chances today, and it will be a day for the sprinters at the finish.
The sprint point comes earlier than normal in this stage, and may entice the teams of the sprinters to engage in some interesting tactics, like putting a points jersey candidate in the breakaway or do an advance move with teammates, but that seems unlikely with a sprint finish in prospect, which they will want to save their energy for.
Local Trivia
The finish in Fougeres is in in Brittany, or Bretagne, and is an interesting region of France, as it has its own distinct culture separate from the rest of France. The residents mostly speak French, but Breton is also spoken, the traditional language of the region, and it is more closely related to Cornish and Welsh. This independence was born in the history of the region, as it has been its own duchy in the past, and was often a key player in the wars between England and France.
The finish in Fougeres is in in Brittany, or Bretagne, and is an interesting region of France, as it has its own distinct culture separate from the rest of France. The residents mostly speak French, but Breton is also spoken, the traditional language of the region, and it is more closely related to Cornish and Welsh. This independence was born in the history of the region, as it has been its own duchy in the past, and was often a key player in the wars between England and France.
The Contenders
Andre Greipel has ruled the roost on the sprints so far, but he has benefited from some disorganisation in front of him, taking advantage of a long sprint by Cavendish in Stage 2, then finding himself out of position in Stage 5, but being shielded from the headwind which allowed him to come from behind. He is certainly riding very fast at the moment, but I think he will be beaten here, on this slight uphill, which won't suit the power style of Greipel.
Mark Cavendish has been criticised by many in the media, but I think that he has been riding well, it wasn't his fault that he was dropped off early in Stage 2, and Stage 5 was an odd sprint, with the headwind and the downhill making it a tough one to judge. He was the fastest of those that he started on equal terms with there though, and he is clearly still very fast. He will be better suited to the slight uphill than Greipel, with his lighter weight, and that could well be enough to make up the difference.
Peter Sagan is making a habit of taking second places, already having racked up three 2nds so far this Tour, and a 3rd. It looked like he missed a trick by not following Stybar yesterday, as he was by far the strongest of the remaining riders, and looked like he had a bit more to give. In stages 2 and 5, the more pure sprinting stages, Sagan has been the fast finishing second on both occasions, losing by centimetres to Greipel in the prior, and swooping from nowhere in the latter, making up bike lengths in rapid fashion, going a good deal faster than anyone else. He doesn't have his own leadout, which is why he has to ride from behind, but he will be the man most happy with the uphill finish here, maybe he can finally crack it for a win.
John Degenkolb has become somewhat a specialist in the uphill sprints, but he ideally prefers a steeper slope, like what was on offer at the end of Stage 4. He was the best of the sprinters on that stage, and was bitterly disappointed afterwards that he wasn't sprinting for the win. He finished 6th on the downhill finish, and 4th up the tough hill last stage. Degenkolb is clearly in some very good form, but he lacks the absolute top power that some of the other sprinters posess, and even the uphill here might not be enough to make a difference to that. He shouldn't be far off though.
Edvald Boasson Hagen looks to have recaptured something of the form that made him a sensation of the 2011 Tour, and he is again a player in the sprint stages. There has been some talk about him working for Tyler Farrar in the sprint finishes, but with Boasson Hagen in such good form, it wouldn't make much sense to switch away from him here. The uphill finish is right up his alley, though like Degenkolb, he'd like it harder, and the gradient won't be enough for him to actually win here.
Davide Cimolai is another who doesn't mind a healthy gradient on a sprint finish, notably finishing 2nd behind Matthews in Paris, and then beating him later in the race. Matthews is generally considered one of the best in those sort of finishes, so clearly Cimolai is an impressive rider on that terrain. Again, he is not so strong in the flat finishes, and he doesn't have a leadout to help him into the finish, so the uphill may not be enough to help him, but it should be interesting if he can start on par with the top sprinters.
Speaking of Matthews, it seems that he isn't ready to start sprinting again yet, he looks laboured on the bike, and has trouble getting out of the saddle, and I doubt that he'll be pushing too hard anytime soon.
Alexander Kristoff is going to be disappointed with his race so far, and today's finish looks like a good chance to make amends. He handles the uphill gradients better than most sprinters and he wasn't far off the pace in his first sprint of the race in Stage 5. His 4th there was only half a wheel off Cavendish's performance, and they started on equal terms. His most recent win was on an uphill finish where he bested Sagan, so he will be confident coming into this stage.
Andre Greipel has ruled the roost on the sprints so far, but he has benefited from some disorganisation in front of him, taking advantage of a long sprint by Cavendish in Stage 2, then finding himself out of position in Stage 5, but being shielded from the headwind which allowed him to come from behind. He is certainly riding very fast at the moment, but I think he will be beaten here, on this slight uphill, which won't suit the power style of Greipel.
Mark Cavendish has been criticised by many in the media, but I think that he has been riding well, it wasn't his fault that he was dropped off early in Stage 2, and Stage 5 was an odd sprint, with the headwind and the downhill making it a tough one to judge. He was the fastest of those that he started on equal terms with there though, and he is clearly still very fast. He will be better suited to the slight uphill than Greipel, with his lighter weight, and that could well be enough to make up the difference.
Peter Sagan is making a habit of taking second places, already having racked up three 2nds so far this Tour, and a 3rd. It looked like he missed a trick by not following Stybar yesterday, as he was by far the strongest of the remaining riders, and looked like he had a bit more to give. In stages 2 and 5, the more pure sprinting stages, Sagan has been the fast finishing second on both occasions, losing by centimetres to Greipel in the prior, and swooping from nowhere in the latter, making up bike lengths in rapid fashion, going a good deal faster than anyone else. He doesn't have his own leadout, which is why he has to ride from behind, but he will be the man most happy with the uphill finish here, maybe he can finally crack it for a win.
John Degenkolb has become somewhat a specialist in the uphill sprints, but he ideally prefers a steeper slope, like what was on offer at the end of Stage 4. He was the best of the sprinters on that stage, and was bitterly disappointed afterwards that he wasn't sprinting for the win. He finished 6th on the downhill finish, and 4th up the tough hill last stage. Degenkolb is clearly in some very good form, but he lacks the absolute top power that some of the other sprinters posess, and even the uphill here might not be enough to make a difference to that. He shouldn't be far off though.
Edvald Boasson Hagen looks to have recaptured something of the form that made him a sensation of the 2011 Tour, and he is again a player in the sprint stages. There has been some talk about him working for Tyler Farrar in the sprint finishes, but with Boasson Hagen in such good form, it wouldn't make much sense to switch away from him here. The uphill finish is right up his alley, though like Degenkolb, he'd like it harder, and the gradient won't be enough for him to actually win here.
Davide Cimolai is another who doesn't mind a healthy gradient on a sprint finish, notably finishing 2nd behind Matthews in Paris, and then beating him later in the race. Matthews is generally considered one of the best in those sort of finishes, so clearly Cimolai is an impressive rider on that terrain. Again, he is not so strong in the flat finishes, and he doesn't have a leadout to help him into the finish, so the uphill may not be enough to help him, but it should be interesting if he can start on par with the top sprinters.
Speaking of Matthews, it seems that he isn't ready to start sprinting again yet, he looks laboured on the bike, and has trouble getting out of the saddle, and I doubt that he'll be pushing too hard anytime soon.
Alexander Kristoff is going to be disappointed with his race so far, and today's finish looks like a good chance to make amends. He handles the uphill gradients better than most sprinters and he wasn't far off the pace in his first sprint of the race in Stage 5. His 4th there was only half a wheel off Cavendish's performance, and they started on equal terms. His most recent win was on an uphill finish where he bested Sagan, so he will be confident coming into this stage.
The Verdict
Peter Sagan has been so close to taking a number of wins already at this year's Tour, and he just needs a smalle advantage to fall his way to bridge that gap. The slight uphill on the finish here looks to be right up his alley, and I think we'll see him break through here.
Peter Sagan has been so close to taking a number of wins already at this year's Tour, and he just needs a smalle advantage to fall his way to bridge that gap. The slight uphill on the finish here looks to be right up his alley, and I think we'll see him break through here.