Like on stage four, there are any number of riders who could find some joy in Vire Normandie today. Tadej Pogacar loves a climb and a stage win, particularly in yellow, and the 10% gradient on the final climb will appeal to him - if the GC teams control the stage, which UAE certainly tend to do whenever the big man has a victory in his sights.

The first climb of the day is over 4km long and starts climbing in town and chased by a lumpy road to Charbonnières. It was a different road but the same place where Julian Alaphilippe attacked in the 2018 Paris-Nice and imploded, the lesson of the day was that the climb was too long for him.