Tour de France Femmes stage 6 LIVE: Another hot stage packed with climbs could shake-up the GC

80km to go

We can see Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) working smoothly together.

With EF’s pink jersey’s on the front of the chasing peloton.

EF Education-Oatly are chasing stage victories this year. They missed the three-roider attack and so are chasing, with Henrietta Christie working on the front.

He efforts have helped reduce the gap to 1:50. EF will try to launch a riders across or into any more serious attack later in the stage.

The race passed the intermediate sprint point a little earlier.

Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) took the first three places but Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) was near the front of the peloton, was 5th over the line and so scored 13 more points.

95km to go

The riders have covered 1300 m of the total 2600m of elevation gain they face today.

That indicates that the first part of the stage, the 60km covered so far, was harder that what is to come.

The pace in the peloton has eased on the plateau roads and that allowed van der Breggen and other riders to get back on.

There 114 riders in the peloton, 3 on the attack and a gruppetto of 15 riders at 5:00.

Up front, Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), Nikola Nosková (Cofidis), Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) are working smoothly together.

They have extended their lead out to 2:20 now.

The race is climbing higher into the hills, with the Côte de Praneuf looming.

Just like stage 5, there is little chance to recover bewtten each clmib, descent and the next climb.

Mental strength is also important in the Tour.

At the top of the Côte de Périgneux, Puck ‘polka-dot’ Pieterse again kicks away to score 2 QOM points.

Pieterse took the polka-dot jersey by chance but has now opted to chase every point.

The riders start the double whammy of the 1.4km Côte de Périgneux and the 2.7km Côte de la Prunerie.

Riders are already being dropped as Josie Nelson is caught.

140km to go

Josie Nelson (Picnic) is the first attacker of the day.

For now the race is gruppo compatto but we are expecting attacks.

After the intense racing on stage 5 and with Ventoux coming up on Friday, there is a sense in the peloton that a breakaway might have a chance today.

134 riders start the 6th stage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes at exactly 13:46.

Two riders did not start: Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco).

This was the roll out and now the stage has officially started.

No attacks from the moment the start flag was waved.

Following her strong TT and her excellent performance in the hills on stage 5, Marlen Reusser (Movistar) is still in the yellow jersey.

But she has just a 12-second lead on Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) and 1:17 on Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM).

It’s great to see Chiara Consonni race on despite a nasty crash early on stage 5.

She joked she has less skin but two stitches in her knee.

The race speaker does a countdown ands lets out his long “C’est Parti…..!”

The stage is underway.

We’re five minutes from the roll-out of the stage in Montbrison.

The riders face 153.4km in the saddle, with a 5km neutralised sector.

This was our story with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot reaction after stage 5.

This is a detailed stage preview of stage 6.

It is a medium-mountain stage that covers 153.4km, passing through the eastern part of the Massif Central on narrow roads, almost always either climbing or descending.