Stage 6 of the 2024 Tour de France departed from the city of Mâcon, covering 163 km on the way to a finish in Dijon. The flat, sprinter-friendly stage set out
The concluding portion of the stage would unfold within Dijon's city limits, featuring a predominantly straight run-in to the finish line. Riders will encounter a nearly uninterrupted 1.5km stretch towards the finish, with only a single roundabout presenting a minor disruption approximately 800 meters from the line. This layout sets the stage for an exciting sprint finale in the heart of the Burgundy capital.
The peloton was rather cagey in the first half of the race, and one aspect of particular note is that no early breakaway group formed off the front of the peloton. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis) did go off the front for the first 30 km, and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took 20 points in the points classification in the intermediate sprint, followed by Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Arnaud Demare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), and Brian Coquard (Cofidis).
The Lotto-Dstny put sped up the pace at the front of the peloton with 95 km to go, but no individual rider or group of riders managed to go free and create any separation at the front. Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), the winner of Stage 5 at the Tour de France this year, then required a bike change 70 km from the finish line, but he was able to reconnect with the peloton well before the pack neared the finish.
The pace once again picked up with 27 km to go to the finish, as the peloton held in tight formation with no individual attacks off the front.
A crash 7 km from the finish on a narrowing roadway on the approach to Dijon showed the first hints of a nervy approach to the line. Biniam Girmay was in particularly good position with 4 km to go, along with Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco–AlUla), however Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) was soon better positioned with 2 km to go.
A clean race to the finish line led to Dylan Groenewegen finishing ahead of Jasper Philipsen by inches to take Stage 6 of the 2024 Tour de France. Groenewegen was clearly elated after the finish, letting out a howl of celebration as he hugged his team.
The stage did not change much for the general classification, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in the lead, followed by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Biniam Girmay will wear the green jersey as points leader for the start of Stage 7 and Jonas Ambrahamsen as the King of the Mountains classification leader in the polka dot jersey.
Stage 7 will be a flat, 25.3 km long individual time trial
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