PREVIEW | Tour de Suisse 2023 stage 6 - Hilly day provides opportunity for breakaway and puncheurs

Preview. After three days in the mountains, the Tour de Suisse comes back down. Stage 6 will be a hilly day suited to the puncheurs and classics riders.

From La Punt the riders depart, but away from the high mountains. A long day on the bike follows, the longest stage of the race with 215 kilometers in total. It's a tricky day and the finale is explosive, into Oberwil-Lieli the riders have a small hilltop finish.

*Note: Only the last 20 kilometers of the stage will be raced, but not competitively, as the peloton pays tribute to the passing of Gino Mäder.

- June 16 - Stage 6: La Punt - Oberwil-Lieli, 215.3km. From 10:48 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.

The riders climb back up the Albulapass once again now in the opposite direction to start the day, 8.9 kilometers at 6.8%. After a fast descent comes a 7.5-kilometer ascent at 7.5%. These are roads where a strong breakaway can go up the road, and at this point of the race many will have freedom to try it. It's a classics-style day with a sharp, hilly and explosive finale.

With 53 kilometers to go the rider summit an ascent which is almost 2.5 kilometers at 10%, the final 55 kilometers are a constant up-and-down, without any major point of attack, but instead a constant grind ideal for attacks. Whether in the peloton or breakaway, riders are unlikely to wait for the final ascent. There will be a few hilltops in the final kilometers alone which are 700 meters at 8.8% and 1.4Km at 8.4% - the latter ending with only 8.5 kilometers to go.

Then it's a fast and downhill approach to the final hilltop, where the riders go up into the town of Oberwil-Lieli. It's 2.5 kilometers at 6.7%, an interesting finale where both puncheurs and GC riders stand their chances, but it's also hard enough to see attacks and not only the wait for a sprint.

Some wind from the northwest. This won't come as good news for the breakaway, there will be a general headwind throughout the day, and in the final climb the riders find a similar situation which could more likely lead to a sprint finish between a small group.

This is a very open day. A breakaway can succeed, in this case however it would be very similar to today where you can see a large breakaway go up the road with a mix of pure climbers and classics riders. Here they'd stand rather equal chances, it's a day that starts off hard and will be hard to control, the finale is explosive and with an uphill finish however the gradients aren't hard enough to create gaps. GC fight can happen, late attack can also win, and a small group sprint could be expected. Add to that the astounding field of classics riders we've got, alongside the lack of a Pogacar or Roglic who'll just outsprint the sprinters themselves, we've got a very interesting day in our hands.

Although I wouldn't expect an outright GC battle those riders will all need to be on their best legs not to lose time. However some will also possibly look to gain time. The likes of Mattias Skjelmose, Pello Bilbao and Felix Gall all pack a powerful sprint and they could all want to take time on their rivals on what may be the final opportunity before the time-trial. Juan Ayuso on the opposite side could have fresher legs towards a sprint if he's as good as today. Add the wildcard Remco Evenepoel, but also the likes of Rigoberto Urán, Wilco Kelderman, Romain Bardet and Cian Uijtdebroeks to the mix and you've got a storming finale!

However I'd dare to say those aren't even the main favourites. A balanced field, and they should be able to climb better than the next names, however those will pack stronger sprints. A non-top form Wout van Aert could certainly aim for the win and have Jumbo-Visma commit to the chase here. Alex Aranburu and Movistar are in a similar situation, whilst the likes of Tom Pidcock, Dylan Teuns and Marc Hirschi are all top climbers who have shown good enough form to contest the win here on what is a shorter and more explosive effort than previous days.

In a possible sprint here you would also have to consider the likes of Bryan Coquard and Quinten Hermans who are highly explosive, whilst for late attacks there are also other strong puncheurs present such as Rui Costa, Michael Gogl, Mauro Schmid, Mikkel Honoré, Sergio Higuita and Soren Kragh Andersen. A good day, I think enough interests to prevent a breakaway win however the profile suits early attackers.

*** Tom Pidcock, Dylan Teuns, Wout van Aert
** Marc Hirschi, Mattias Skjelmose, Pello Bilbao, Alex Aranburu
* Juan Ayuso, Felix Gall, Remco Evenepoel, Wilco Kelderman, Rui Costa, Mauro Schmid, Quinten Hermans, Bryan Coquard

Pick: Wout van Aert