Favorites stage 6 Tour de France Femmes 2024 | Going up in altitude for real: something for Pieterse and Van Empel?

Four passes in the exceptionally long stage of 159 kilometers between Remiremont and Morteau. We go over a thousand meters above sea level once. However, it gets steep nowhere, although four climbs are in the final stage. More than Thursday's stage, it is a day for breakaways. It's too tough for the sprinters but not demanding enough for the big breakaway riders.

Climbs
11.7 km: Col du Mont de Fourche (3.2 km at 5.9%)
90.0 km: Col de Ferrière (2.6 km at 4.7%)
106.0 km: Côte de Laviron (5.7 km at 4.1%)
133.1 km: La Roche du Prêtre (5.5 km at 5.6%)
144.3 km: Côte des Fins (1.8 km at 6.9%)  

Timetable
Start: 11:40 a.m.
Finish: approximately 4 p.m.

It could rain Friday afternoon around Morteau, where the finish is, although there is also a good chance of sunshine. It will be a reasonably warm day anyway, with temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius.

It is not likely a stage where the big names will suffer some time loss, right? You never know, but the climbs don't seem steep ánd not long enough. Do we write down Marianne Vos(Visma | Lease a Bike) again? She can master many courses. The same goes for her teammate Fem van Empel, who also showed herself on Thursday.

SD Worx-Protime will not necessarily be targeting Demi Vollering, who will want to recover from her fall on Thursday, but Kata Blanka Vas, the Hungarian champion and winner of Thursday's race! Liane Lippert (Movistar) will also find a course that suits them.

After her spectacular performances in the hills, polka dot jersey lady Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) is also not to be underestimated, although she too had a big crash on Thursday. Therefore, the exact injury remains to be seen. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won stages on similar terrain earlier this year in Valencia, but then it shouldn't be too fast on the road. After her Olympic title, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education) is a dangerous competitor, and suitable for the terrain. So, her form is undoubtedly in good shape as well.

Should it become a bitter race, classification leader Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) are obvious contenders for a hard-fought stage win.

Top favorite: Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Kristen Faulkner (EF-Education) and Kata Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime)
Long shots: Fem van Empel (Visma | Lease a Bike), Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing)