Stage 06 - Épernay > > > Metz (205km)
Friday, July 6, 2012
Km 145.0 - Côte de Buxières 2.7 kilometre-long climb at 3.8% - category 4
(Graphics - letour.com & cyclingnews.com)
Stage 06 - Épernay > > > Metz (205km)
Friday, July 6, 2012
Km 145.0 - Côte de Buxières 2.7 kilometre-long climb at 3.8% - category 4
Tour de France 2012
Stage 06 - Épernay > > > Metz (205km)
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sprint expected but not certain...
There is another day of flat racing and thus the consensus is that this will be another day for the sprinters but there are some lessons to take home from the early stanza of Le Tour 2012: accidents happen, riders can falter, and some lead-out trains are more organized than others. Peter Sagan missed out on adding points to his tally in stage five because of a crash. Matt Goss has been consistent and appears to be getting closer to his first Tour stage win. André Greipel's crew has proven to be the most formidable this year. And, on top of everything, there is a week of racing with weary legs and damaged bodies to consider. We've seen three bunch sprints this year but each has been affected by a crash leading to the finish. Surely what we all want to see in Metz is all the specialists going head-to-head before the Tour arrives in the mountains. A true, pure sprint. That's the likely conclusion for stage six but a glimpse at the finish of stage five reminds us that the escapees are getting closer to pulling off a coup. Perhaps today will be the day that the attackers are the big beneficiaries.
Last sprint before the hills
The race continues east with another stage that’s sure to be a sprint. There’s one categorised climb, soon after the day’s intermediate sprint, but the sprinters won’t be too troubled by it. Plus, they have the motivation of knowing that this will be their last moment in the spotlight for the best part of a week, so they won’t want to pass this chance up. With the mountains just ahead, the baroudeurs, who like nothing more than several hours out at the front of the race, will be evident too. Could this be a day when one of them goes the whole distance? Probably not, but that won’t stop them trying.
Sean Yates: "It is too early to be going for intermediate sprints so we won’t be trying keep it together. It’s the last flat stage and then we hit the mountains – the combination of us [Sky], Omega Pharma-Quick-Step and Lotto will surely lead to a sprint."
(Commentary - letour.com & cyclingnews.com)