There are six stages categorised as “flat” on the official route guide. Paris may not quite count for the pure sprinters because of the three ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre … long story short, the sprinters’ teams cannot afford to mess this up today. If a breakaway was allowed to succeed, the atmosphere will be frosty at dinner tonight for those teams.

Here we go then. The riders are out on the road and have another 3.5km or so until the flag drops. We should see a very decent scrap to form the breakaway.

TNT Sports are broadcasting live from the Rapha cafe in central London today. The presenter, Orla Chennaoui, asked the assembled fans if they are enjoying Pogacar’s dominance: the response was mixed. What do you reckon? Mail me.

Have a read of Jeremy Whittle’s stage six report, after one of the most dominant performances we’ve ever seen from Tadej Pogacar:

Stage seven, Friday 10 July: Hagetmau to Bordeaux, 175.1km

In the past, Bordeaux was a hugely prestigious stage for the sprinters, on a par with the Champs Élysées; the roll of honour includes Mark Cavendish, Freddy Maertens, Erik Zabel, Rik van Looy and André Darrigade. That history of 82 stage finishes has acquired more meaning since the Paris finale has been jazzed up with the addition of the Montmartre climb: with the Champs no longer a guaranteed bunch gallop, the finish on the banks of the Garonne will be the most prized sprint this year. Philipsen won here in 2023, pipping Cavendish, and he will be odds-on to do it again.

The temperature in Bordeaux is forecast to peak at 36C today, although it’ll be hotter than that out on the road.

The neutralised start is scheduled for half an hour’s time: 12.15 BST/13.15 CET.

So, what is the vibe for stage seven, from Hagetmau to Bordeaux? It’s 175.1km trip through some famous wine country, with one categorised climb, the Côte de Béguey, a category-four, cresting after 137.3km. (A massive 84m of climbing there and 850m in total - quite a difference to yesterday’s punishing Pyrenean parcours.)

The intermediate sprint comes a while before that, after 120.2km, at Landiras – which begs the question of how much effort a team like Lidl-Trek will put in trying to control things beforehand so their man Pedersen can go for the 25 points on offer.

And that is basically that. As per usual for a finish in a city, the final looks quite technical, with a few roundabouts to negotiate before a big left-hander to cross a bridge over La Garonne, before a final blast along the river to the finish.