COURSE: Despite some early hills through the Burgundy and Côte d’Or wine country, this transitional stage closes with45km of long, flat roads into the center of Bourg-en-Bresse — where a mass sprint seems certain. Bourg is a city of 40,000 people that’s the capital of the Ain department.

HISTORY: There has been just one stage finish in Bourgen-Bresse. That was in 2002, when stage 18 ended in a three-man sprint taken by Norway’s Hushovd from Frenchman Christophe Mengin and Denmark’s Jakob Piil.

Stage 6 - Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse - (199.5km)

FAVORITES: Crosswinds may be a factor in splitting the peloton over the final hour of racing and could result in a different kind of finish, albeit a group sprint. This could be good for McEwen, Hushovd or Förster, but Bennati and Boonen, with their powerful lead-out trains, are the favorites to win.