Tour de France 2025 - Stage 6: Voigt's preview: First chance for an escape group

Stage 6 | Thursday, 10 July 2025 | Bayeux - Vire Normandie | 201.5 kilometres | 3550 vertical metres

Jens Voigt's assessment of stage 6

The 6th stage from Bayeux to Vire in Normandy is the second longest of this tour and is categorised as hilly. Surprisingly, the elevation profile shows 3500 metres of climbing, most of which is spread over the six categorised climbs of the day. In my opinion, this is the first day of this tour on which an early breakaway group really has a chance of getting through and fighting for the stage win.

The profile is clearly too demanding for the sprinters, especially with this finale: On the Côte de Vaudry, the climb is 1.2 kilometres long and 7.2 per cent steep on average (4th category) - 4.4 kilometres before the stage finish, which is another 700 metres long with a 10.2 per cent gradient. The stage is preceded by the mountain classifications on the Côte du Mont-Pinçon, the Côte de la Ronçonnière, the Côte de Mortain (also Côte 314), the Côte de Juvigny-le-Tertre and the Côte de Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie (all 3rd category).

We might see two races in one today: a leading group will be fighting for the stage win. There could also be a surprise attack from a classification rider out of the peloton in the finale. A few seconds can be gained on the rivals on the final climbs.

Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of stage 6 of the Tour de France 2025

• Neutral start: 12:35 pm, sharp start 12:45 pm
• Estimated arrival time: between 17:14 and 17:40
• TV broadcast: ARD 14:10-17:30, Eurosport 1 12:15-17:30
• Live stream: sportschau.de, Discovery Plus (fee required)
• All stages of the Tour de France 2025 at a glance

Highlights of the 6th stage

• 13:10: A fast start: The intermediate sprint of the day in Villers-Bocage takes place after just 22 kilometres. It becomes clear who is seriously in contention for the green jersey.
• 16:35: The finale begins on the Côte de Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie (3rd category) at the latest - 27 kilometres before the demanding finish in Vire/Normandie.

TOUR expert Jens Voigt

Nobody in the German-speaking world knows the Tour de France better: Jens Voigt competed as a professional in the most important cycling race a total of 17 times between 1998 and 2014. Only the Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, the current record holder, has managed one more participation. Voigt knows the race from the perspective of the winner and the tireless helper in the team. He won two stages himself and wore the yellow jersey for one day each in 2001 and 2005. In 2010, as a team-mate in Team Saxo Bank, he accompanied Luxembourg's Andy Schleck to his overall victory (after the doping disqualification of Alberto Contador, who initially came first; editor's note). The 53-year-old Berliner currently works as a brand ambassador for the bike manufacturer Trek and as a pundit for the Eurosport channel.

For TOUR readers, the former pro gives his predictions for the course of the 21 stages, points out difficulties and things worth seeing. For each day's stage, he gives a tip on what role the course could play in the final standings in the individual classifications in Paris. If three of the jerseys are coloured, this means that this day could be decisive for this classification - i.e. overall classification (yellow), sprint/points classification (green) and classification of the best climber (red dotted jersey). We also give you the broadcast times of the TV channels in Germany (ARD and Eurosport) and their live streams - plus tips on when it might be particularly worth tuning in.