TDF 2024:-Stage 6: Mâcon – Dijon, 163.5km Spoilers

blazing_saddles · July 3

Stage 6: Mâcon – Dijon, 163.5km

July 4th.

Start Time: 12-35BST.

The 163.5km stage 6 from Mâcon to Dijon, should be another day for the sprinters, as the route is virtually flat, (The altitude gain between Mâcon and Dijon is 1,000 metres) and the fight for the green points jersey will start to take shape. The starting venue, Mâcon, is located on the River Saône and it hosts Le Tour for the seventh time. The last occasion was in 2019, when Thomas De Gendt took the win. The last Tour de France stage finish in Dijon happened in 1997.

Profile.

Map.

The Climb.

Col du Bois Clair (Cat. 4) – 1.6 kilometres at 6% – is crested after 10 kilometres.

Final Kilometres.

The riders navigate the gently rolling roads of Burgundy until the stage conclusion on the wide 800-metre straight into the prefecture of the Côte-d’Or.

What to Expect.

The flattest Tour de France stage so far, so a sprint finish in the streets of Dijon is next to certain.

Mâcon

Stage town for the 6th time

Prefecture of Saône-et-Loire (71)

Population: 34,500

MACON AND CYCLING

Macon has put itself on the Tour de France map thanks to two decisive time trials. This was notably the case in 1991, when Miguel Indurain sealed the first of his five titles by beating Gianni Bugno and Greg LeMond. In 2012, the town was the starting point for a stage to Bellegarde-sur-Valserine that enabled Thomas Voeckler to claim the penultimate of his four stage victories in the Tour de France. He repeated the feat in Bagnères-de-Luchon to take the polka-dot jersey. In 2019, it was Thomas de Gendt, a specialist in long breakaways, who won a stage from Macon in Saint-Etienne. Two Macon-born cyclists took part in the Tour de France: Joël Millard, on four occasions between 1972 and 1975, and Guy Buchaille, in 1953 and 1957.

Specialities: Mâconnais wafers, Idéal mâconnais (cake), Mâconnais wines, wines (Viré-Clessé, Saint-Véran, Pouilly-Fuissé), bouchon (chocolate with Burgundy marc), andouillette, snails and goat's cheese.

Maison mâconnaise des vins (Macon house of wine)

Founded in 1958, this house facing the Saône is both a renowned traditional restaurant serving the best Burgundy recipes and a cellar where you can discover a wide range of Macon appellations.

VIN . Les appellations du Mâconnais s'ouvrent aux grand jours de Bourgogne

Dijon

Prefecture of the Côte d'Or and the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region

Stage town for the 14th time.

Population: 159,500

DIJON AND CYCLING

The Tour de France has stopped off in Dijon on thirteen instances but had not returned to the Burgundy capital for more than a quarter of a century since Mario Traversoni's victory in the city in 1997. Ten years earlier, Jean-François Bernard scored a spectacular time-trial victory ahead of Stephen Roche, which secured him third place overall behind the Irishman and Pedro Delgado in Paris. Dijon is also the birthplace of Geoffrey Bouchard, winner of the KOM classification in the Giro and the Vuelta, who has only contested the Tour de France once, in 2022. The prefecture of Côte d'Or also hosted the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2009 and Paris-Nice on three occasions in the 1930s and 1940s.

Specialities: mustard, blackcurrants, crème de cassis, kir. Burgundy snails, parsley ham, Burgundy truffles, beef bourguignon, gougères, eggs en meurettes, chicken Gaston Gérard, gingerbread and nonnettes. Burgundy wines.

Dijon mustard

As a land of vineyards, Burgundy was well placed to supply new wine and vinegar to the mustard manufacturers who increasingly settled in Dijon. This former land of charcoal burners was ideal for growing strong, pungent seeds. It wasn't long before mustard became a veritable Dijon institution, the manufacture of which was regulated by an ordinance dated August 10, 1390. In 1634, the first official statutes of the corporation of vinegar and mustard makers of the city of Dijon governed the trade. Dijon mustard is made from brown mustard seeds (Brassica juncea), vinegar, salt and citric acid. It goes well with all meats.

differentiate-dijon-vs-yellow-mustard-982020[1].jpg

Oeufs en meurette

Pross · July 3

Worth keeping an eye on the weather. Looking at Windy app it’s showing westerly wind gusting up to 20 odd mph for mid stage at Chalon sur Saone.

Pross · July 3

Chance to push the pace heading east where they cross the A6 and then smash it as they turn northwards after St-Loup-Geanges with wide open fields on the windward side. There’s a second chance just afterwards too.

blazing_saddles · July 4

Pross called it. Get the Klaxon ready.😃

Mad_Malx · July 4

Like the word ‘rafales’

kingstongraham · July 4

Look at how MVDP gets on the bike.

https://x.com/NBCSCycling/status/1808491130235101326

gweeds · July 4

If I tried that I would either fall off or smack my nuts on the TT/saddle

r0bh · July 4

Cross skillz

Pross · July 4

That egg dish is the OP looks fantastic. I'm hungry now.

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

As asked on yesterday's thread, Mads P will be starting today.

He might look like a cheeky 12 year old, but in reality he's a double-hard bastard. DK TV had to ask his physical therapist bloke if it was defensible to let him ride

mididoctors · July 4

The lack of puns in this thread doesn't cut the mustard if you ask me

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

Aaaaaaahhhhh. Søren Kragh takes his childhood teddy (a sea cow - most definitely NOT a dolphin!) to every race. I've never heard anything so sweet 😅

Pross · July 4

Blythe is now stealing my analysis from yesterday regarding crosswinds, the exact same location. In my favour is I didn't do it using bad acting on a VR bus.

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078930#Comment_21078930

Dijon't you know? We're going to get tasty later.

Pross · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078930#Comment_21078930

No-one seems keen

blazing_saddles · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078914#Comment_21078914

Thanks for being so condimentary.

blazing_saddles · July 4

Cor, look at this fight for the breakaway.

Seriously, is anyone surprised by the lack of motivation?

fleshtuxedo · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078952#Comment_21078952

That deserves a dressing down

Pross · July 4

Weather really not looking nice in the distance.

blazing_saddles · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078972#Comment_21078972

It’s making my pictures grainy.

Pross · July 4

It feels like the KOM for this climb was up for grabs before today. 3' 50" for a 1 mile 6% average climb doesn't feel particularly challenging.

Pross · July 4

Abrahamsen seems to be going for the points a bit early, only half way up and someone now crossing to him (it's our bunny hopping hero from yesterday Zingle).

Pross · July 4

Possible unintended break, peloton looking very disinterested again.

Pross · July 4

I suspect Abrahamsen only wanted the points for the KOM but Zingle went with him and now they seem compelled to make a go of things.

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

Axel Zingle - yesterday's bunny-hopping hero - decided to try for a break with Abrahamsen.

I guess that with his fame from yesterday his DS told him to get out there while the commentators would spread it on thick for him.

fleshtuxedo · July 4

Mads firmly on the back, he's in for a rough day assuming the expected echelon shenanigans

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21078986#Comment_21078986

Mads firmly on the front when sprinting for the intermediate

Got 3rd after Philipsen and Girmay

No_Ta_Doctor · July 4

GC teams - and Astana - back to the front as crosswind nervousness kicks in

A graphic earlier showed around 10-12 km/h, which isn't enough to create a split, but it could pick up

blazing_saddles · July 4

So, Pog gave one of Cav’s kids his yellow shades.

Tidy.

Pross · July 4

Kirby suddenly decided he is pro motorbikes in the peloton after all his previous 'for goodness sakes get that motorbike out of there' comments.

Pross · July 4