Into the Auvergne, today is proper mountain territory, with the stage taking place entirely in the Puy-de-Dôme department – named so after the dormant volcano of Tour de France lore.
The city of Clermont-Ferrand hosts the stage start, as it has often done due to its proximity to the volcano.
In 2023, it hosted the Grand Départ of the women’s race, with a looped stage also finishing here, which was won by star rider Lotte Kopecky.
The race reaches stage 6 with AG Insurance-Soudal's Kim Le Court Pienaar wearing the yellow jersey after winning stage 5 yesterday, narrowly beating Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen in a bunch sprint.
There’s close to 2,500m of elevation on the menu – a substantial chunk of the record 17,240m across the nine days of the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
As for the route, it’s backloaded with substantial, albeit rather gentle passes and the summit of the final climb comes 13km from the finish before a descent into Ambert.
Stage 6: Clermont-Ferrand > Ambert
- Date: 31 July
- Distance: 123.7km
- Stage type: Mountain
Route profile
Route map
“The stage, which starts in the huge Place de Jaude in the heart of Clermont-Ferrand, will be run entirely in the department of Puy-de-Dôme,” says race director Marion Rousse.
“Beginning on fairly flat roads, it’ll head to Courpière, where things will get serious.
"The ascent of the Col du Béal (10.2km at 5.6%) will be followed very soon after by those of the Col du Chansert (6.3km at 5.5%) and the Côte de Valcivières.
“Running through a wild landscape of volcanic rock, there’ll be no respite at all on the road to Ambert.”
One to watch: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Another high-profile peloton returnee, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), will be aiming targeting this stage.
Did you know?
Clermont-Ferrand’s second hosting of the race makes it the first stage town to do so, in this, the fourth edition of the Tour.
