\n50km to go<\/p>\n
Finally, some help has come for Decathlon. EF have put Ben Healy’s powerful engine to work on the front with the yellow jersey quickly getting away from Baudin now.<\/p>\n
2026-06-12T13:34:13.351Z<\/p>\n
The break are absolutely motoring along now, with the peloton looking comparatively pedestrian. The gap is out to four minutes!<\/p>\n
2026-06-12T13:27:39.468Z With every team in the race except for Decathlon represented in the day’s breakaway, the group in front is winning the arm wrestle for the moment, extending its lead out to 3:22 on the valley road.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:25:03.884Z<\/p>\n Only just returning to racing after crashing out of the Giro d’Italia, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) has crashed here on stage 6 after hitting a piece of street furniture.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:19:01.365Z I won’t remind you of all 57 remaining riders in the break, but here are some of the top climbers to look out for if they do make it to the finale with a lead still intact \u2013 which looks likely: 2026-06-12T13:11:36.014Z<\/p>\n Almost at the bottom of the descent off the Granier, the next 55km of so will be on flatter valley roads that lead to the pair of category 1 climbs which will decide the day.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:07:19.902Z<\/p>\n Enjoying our live race coverage? Subscribe to Cyclingnews for an all-access pass to our unrivalled reporting of WorldTour racing, bike tech and exclusive in-depth features. Plus, access to the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on-the-go! Find out more.<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:06:50.618Z<\/p>\n Away from men’s racing, there’s big news on the continuing challenges for Chloe Dygert:<\/p>\n ‘Something still wasn’t right’ \u2013 Comeback falters for Chlo\u00e9 Dygert after months of rehab<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:05:08.493Z There’s been a crash in the chasing peloton for Dillon Corkery (Picnic PostNL), and another abandon for Senna Remijn (Alpecin-Premier Tech).<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T13:00:14.767Z<\/p>\n Braz Afonso crested the Granier in first again, picking up five more KOM points. Glivar, Conci ad Skujins mopped up the remaining minor points.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:59:40.450Z<\/p>\n Still no other teams are helping Decathlon CMA CGM in the chase. Gap to the breakaway is now at 2:55 after the second climb.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:58:43.733Z<\/p>\n Look out for further medical updates from Ineos on Tarling’s condition. Based on images it looked like a nasty fall off screen. He was left clutching his left arm and with big road rash in his shoulder.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Josh Tarling has been forced to abandon #TourAuvergneRhoneAlpes after crashing on stage 6.He’s being assessed by our medical team and we will provide an update in due course. pic.twitter.com\/fYKybHwvFnJune 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:50:42.955Z<\/p>\n Vermeersch, Charmig, Urianstad, and Thalmann have continued working for their leaders on the Granier climb. They have put in a lot of work for their teammates already on the valley road. Trentin, who did similarly for Tudor, has been dropped.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:41:28.027Z Decomble and Raisberg have dropped back from the break, leaving just 57 in front after Tarling abandoned.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:38:26.157Z<\/p>\n Tarling has abandoned the race as a result of that crash, rotten luck so close to the upcoming Tour de France. Kevin Geniets has also left the race mid-stage.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:33:24.109Z<\/p>\n Decathlon are leading the chase back in the peloton, but Lidl-Trek are also sat towards the front of the peloton. They will be eager for Ayuso and Skjelmose to be up there on a finish which should suit them both.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:31:14.828Z<\/p>\n A short descent will lead the riders onto the next climb of the day, and it’s a tough one: the Col du Granier (8km at 5.6%).<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:30:23.614Z<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Cl\u00e9ment Braz Afonso extended his lead by the maximum two points available in the King of the Mountains classification over that first climb.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:27:52.517Z Josh Tarling (Netcompany Ineos) has crashed on the climb.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:24:06.661Z<\/p>\n Enjoying our live race coverage? Subscribe to Cyclingnews for an all-access pass to our unrivalled reporting of WorldTour racing, bike tech and exclusive in-depth features. Plus, access to the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on-the-go! Find out more.<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:23:37.842Z The peloton’s deficit is now at 2:25.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:22:27.493Z<\/p>\n The break is now onto the first of four climbs on today’s stage: the cat-3 ascent of C\u00f4te de Ch\u00e2telard (4.3 km at 5.7%).<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:17:57.133Z Raisberg of course won the IS, strengthening his hold on the green jersey. He gained 10 more points as Garcia Pierna took 6 and Urianstad 4. He now has 62 points and a 24-point lead over Henri-Fran\u00e7ois Renard-Haquin.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:11:56.341Z The leading group is closing in on the intermediate sprint in Les \u00c9chelles. Raisberg will be interested in extending his lead in the green jersey points classification.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T12:07:38.782Z<\/p>\n With the race settling down and the groups established, Pacher and Dhondt have made it back to the leading split. Tarling also punctured and made it back in.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:58:12.359Z<\/p>\n Seixas clearly still wants to go for the stage with his team controlling, but if this big group cooperates well, they could build an insurmountable lead heading into the final few climbs. He may have started this week as the favourite, but it’s been far from simple so far.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:56:30.759Z The breakaway’s lead is out past the two-minute mark.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:55:10.541Z<\/p>\n Two riders have punctured out of the leading group now, with Pacher and Dhondt both dropping back.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:47:24.501Z It’s been rapid so far: average speed above 50kph for the first hour, and still around 30km to go until the first climb of the day<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:42:06.474Z<\/p>\n With Decathlon being left to pull on their own in the group behind, the gap to the cooperating break has increased to 1:55.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:34:40.697Z<\/p>\n There are some real GC threats in this group of Baudin’s lead, so it wouldn’t be strange to see EF come to the front to help pace soon.<\/p>\n Luke Tuckwell started the days just 1:03 down, Bruno Armirail 1:20, and Guillaume Martin 1:51.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:33:16.741Z The big front group is working well together, maintaining their lead of 1:45 over the Decathlon-led chasing peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:32:30.108Z<\/p>\n And the second half: Yannis Voisard, Robin Donz\u00e9, Lennart Jasch, Roland Thalmann, Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Nikias Arndt, Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Lars Cras, Matthew Fox, Mathieu Kockelmann, Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9), Jordan Jegat, Thibaut Guernalec, Matteo Vercher (Total Energies), Jose Felix Parra, Sergi Darder, Alex Diaz (Caja Rural), Nadav Raisberg (NSN), Alessandro Covi, Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla), Bryan Coquard, Sam Maisonobe, Louis Rouland (Cofidis), Clement Braz Afonso, Maxime Decomble, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ United), Gal Glivar, Michael Gogl, Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Robbe Dhondt (Picnic PostNL).<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:27:45.710Z<\/p>\n Here’s the first half of those riders: Beno\u00eet Cosnefroy, Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Edoardo Affini, Bruno Armirail, Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-Lease a Bike), Quinn Simmons, Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek), Dorian Godon, Josh Tarling (Nectompany Ineos), Callum Thornley, Luke Tuckwell, Maxim Van Gils, Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Tobias Halland Johannessen, Martin Bugge Urianstad, Anthon Charmig, Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X Mobility), Alastair Mackellar, Georg Steinhauser, Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), Ethan Hayter, Pepijn Reinderink, Martin Svrcek, Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep), Nicola Conci, Chirstian Rodriguez, Simone Velasco (XDS Astana), Pablo Castrillo, and Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar).<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:22:31.999Z<\/p>\n Confirmation that there actually are 60 riders in the leading group on stage 6.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:17:10.952Z<\/p>\n Uno-X Mobility are pulling in the front of the race, with four of their guys making it into the almost 60-rider strong split. Decathlon continue to chase behind.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:12:25.184Z It’s still not completely clear just how many riders are in the front split, but almost all of the big teams are represented by at least one rider.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:09:38.479Z<\/p>\n Here’s a look at some of the early action, with Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) pulling on the front.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:08:35.322Z<\/p>\n Seixas, Del Toro, Jorgenson, Skjelmose, Ayuso, and Vauquelin are all in the second group on the road, still 1:35 down on the break.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T11:02:27.579Z The peloton has split in two early on stage 6. Most of the big GC names are in the second group, with Seixas’ Decathlon team working on the front to try and bring back a one-minute deficit.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:54:51.821Z<\/p>\n Even without much uphill terrain to get away on, there are several early attacks and splits in the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:54:12.952Z<\/p>\n For a deeper dive into how the general classification looks heading into this vital trio of closing stages, read our Deputy Editor Patrick Fletcher’s very through GC analysis:<\/p>\n Ineos with leadership issues, Seixas and Del Toro with ground to make up \u2013 GC analysis ahead of mountain triple-header in Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:52:50.450Z<\/p>\n A reminder of how the GC currently looks at the start of stage 6. EF’s Alex Baudin still leads the race after his breakaway win on day one, with Netcompany Ineos’ co-leaders Oscar Onley and K\u00e9vin Vauquelin, and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) in strking distance.<\/p>\n The likes of Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) came into the race as the main favourites, but they have work to do over these next three mountain days. <\/p>\n Lidl-Trek are also sat nicely in fifth and sixth with Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: FirstCycling)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:48:23.384Z<\/p>\n There’s no climbs at the start as there has been the past two days, so the break will be trying to form on flatter terrain.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:45:51.388Z<\/p>\n Stage 4 runner-up Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) has also abandoned the race.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:44:55.523Z Racing is fully underway on stage 6 of the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes!<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:40:15.097Z<\/p>\n If you’re feeling as though you recognise today’s start location, Saint-Vulbas, you aren’t mistaken as it was the site of one of cycling’s most important victories, though I am biased as a Brit.<\/p>\n It’s where Mark Cavendish finally broke the record he held alongside Eddy Merckx for the most Tour de France stage wins, claiming his 35th back on stage 5 of the 2024 edition to stand alone.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:35:48.830Z Riders are gone from the unofficial start in Saint Vulbas. The racing is expected to kick off fully after 10 minutes of neutral riding to kilometre 0.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:25:21.627Z<\/p>\n Van Aert isn’t the only non-starter on Friday morning. Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) has pulled out after his return to racing, now focusing on Tour de France preparation, Matev\u017e Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious) and Hannes Wilksch (Tudor) \u2013 both fell ill overnight, and Pau Mart\u00ed Soriano (NSN) has also bad to abandon due to illness.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:21:39.256Z<\/p>\n His home nation Mexico kicked off the World Cup with a bang at home last night, beating South Africa at the iconic Azteca Stadium, but can national champion Isaac del Toro make his mark on the first of three big mountain stages?<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:18:15.248Z<\/p>\n In spite of his brutal, high-speed crash a couple of days ago, British Sam Watson has soldiered on to be at the start for these final three mountain stages.<\/p>\n \ud83e\ude79 Sam Watson le guerrier. \ud83e\ude79 Sam Watson: a true warrior #TourAuvergneRhoneAlpes pic.twitter.com\/0El7mYIzO4June 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:13:21.354Z<\/p>\n Just over 20 minutes until the start with the sun shining down on the riders during sign-on.<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:12:04.859Z<\/p>\n Here’s a look at where the riders will be racing today, heading east to the summit finish at Crest-Voland, a 5.9km climb which averages 7.7% gradients.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: ASO)<\/p>\n 2026-06-12T10:08:07.093Z<\/p>\n There has been some news even before the stage’s start, with yesterday’s stage winner Wout van Aert pulling out due to lingering issues from a pre-race crash:<\/p>\n
\n60km to go<\/p>\n
\n70km to go<\/p>\n
Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)
Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost))
Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies)
Yannis Voisard (Tudor)
Pablo Castrillo (Movistar)
Christian Rodriguez (XDS Astana)
Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ United)
One of the top rouleurs in the bunch could also be on a flying day and surprise the purer climbers, though, the likes of Armirail and Simmons perhaps on their best day.<\/p>\n
\n80km to go<\/p>\n
\n90km to go<\/p>\n
\nCrash<\/p>\n
\n100km to go<\/p>\n
\nIntermediate sprint<\/p>\n
\n110km to go<\/p>\n![\"SAINT-VULBAS,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f7DFVfGthUNyvL7qfd3jWg.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n120km to go<\/p>\n
\n130km to go<\/p>\n
\n140km to go<\/p>\n
\n160km to go<\/p>\n![\"CREST-VOLAND,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ACsyJh46UTdZa545ZuWkK8.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n170km to go<\/p>\n![\"GC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/wpC5RvdDPTLCtTKwWbp8uS.png\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n182.3km to go<\/p>\n![\"SAINT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nZJ2Qt8j6mTUsm5JoH6cWN.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\nUnofficial start<\/p>\n![\"SAINT-VULBAS,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WUfURKuXTh3DokLzJf5k5G.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/LCULoBRmMHf99AuqKRJbW3.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n