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Stage by stage
stage 6 - Épernay 
Metz
207.5 km
Friday 6 July
Metz
207.5 km
Friday 6 July
Plain - A sporting perspective
Christian Prudhomme’s Analysis
Statistically, we have remarked that the stages favourable to sprinters are sometimes hindered by inspired attackers, who can take advantage of the peloton’s wait-and-see approach, of weather conditions which deteriorate or of a disruption in the chase of a breakaway. In Metz, like elsewhere, the daring riders are capable of creating the surprise. The finish will be judged a stone’s throw from the Centre Pompidou which has recently welcomed its millionth visitor.
Épernay
• Stage town on 4 previous occasions
• 25,000 inhabitants
• Subprefecture of Marne (51)
The capital of champagne first welcomed the Tour’s peloton in 1963 on the occasion of the 50 th edition. The beginning of the stage turned out to be rather animated as Federico Bahamontes immediately went on the offensive on the flat and outdistanced his rivals by almost 1’ 30”. This was enough to worry Anquetil, who fell, meanwhile, 20 km after the start of the stage, but it was not enough to stand in the way of a fourth success. In 2010, Épernay was the start town of a less eventful stage, marked by the victory of Mark Cavendish in the sprint finish in Montargis.
• www.epernay.fr
• www.ot-epernay.fr
• www.ccepc.fr
• www.paysagesduchampagne.fr
• www.facebook.com/ville.epernay
Metz
• Stage town on 40 previous occasions
• 125,000 inhabitants
• Prefecture of Moselle (57)
In 2012, the capital of Lorraine will be able to take pride in 105 years of history with the Tour. In total, 40 finishes have been judged in Metz since 1907 and six winners of the Tour de France have been victorious there: Lucien Petit-Breton, François Faber, Philippe Thys, Nicolas Frantz, André Leducq and Lance Armstrong when the last finish was hosted by the town, in 1999. When the peloton last visited Metz in 2002, the start of the stage was marked out in the opposite direction and Robbie McEwen was the winner in Reims, situated near Épernay.
• www.mairie-metz.fr
• www.cg57.fr
• www.lorraine.eu
• tourisme.metz.fr
• www.metzmetropole.fr
• www.facebook.com/pages/Ville-de-Metz