Tour De France, 2007, Stage 6 Preview: The Alps Are on the Horizon

With the completion of Friday's sixth stage from Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse, riders in the Tour de France will have completed 740 miles in one week and the serious nature of cycling's pinnacle event will be about to unfold.

First, the field will encounter of 199.5 kilometers (123.9 miles) of largely flat terrain through dozens of small cities as its current southeastern trek through France forges ahead.

A good share of riders suffered in the hilly stage 5 journey Thursday and it didn't include any of the Tour's most challenging ascents. In stage 6, those riders can perhaps recover before the first of three consecutive mountain stages begin Saturday in the Alps.

Since his prologue victory, Fabian Cancellara (CSC) of Switzerland has worn the race leader's yellow jersey. And he'll likely retain his advantage through the sixth stage, too.

Why? Although expected heavy crosswinds could play into the sixth stage's outcome, the field will likely be together for the final 28 miles of long, flat roads into the center of the finishing city, Bourg-en-Bresse.

It will be another five hours in the saddle and despite the overall flat terrain, the sixth stage does include two category 4 climbs. The first ascent concludes after about 35 miles in the Burgundy and Cote d'Or wine country. The day's final categorized climb will conclude after about 84 miles.

Once over the top, the day's remaining flat profile favors another massive sprint finish for this year's fastest Tour men, namely previous stage winners Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) of Australia and Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) of Norway. Erik Zabel (Milram) of Germany and Belgium's Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) have been near the front, but neither veteran has claimed a stage yet.

Continuing the first week trend, Bourg-en-Bresse is another finishing city infrequently visited by the Tour.

The city of an estimated 40,000 is located 35 miles northeast of Lyon and at the western base of the Jura Mountains and on the left bank of the Reyssouze, a tributary of the Saone.

Five years ago, in it's only participation as a Tour finishing city, a three-rider sprint featured France's Christophe Mengin, Jacob Piil of Denmark and Hushovd. The Norwegian took the win, which seems like a nice sentimental way to pick a winner for the final day of the first week of the Tour.