Jonas Abrahamsen, a faller in that crash, has also latched back on, and the gruppo is more or less compatto. The exposed roads, however, leave open the possibility of further splits between here and Dijon.
-43km
That crash did force a split, but it looks set to come back together. Sam Bennett and Mads Pedersen were among the fast men caught out, but they are almost in contact with the bunch again.
There’s a crash at the rear of the peloton just before that turn, just as the road narrowed. Jonas Abrahamsen and Fred Wright are among the riders to go down. Alberto Bettiol was also caught up in the incident, but everybody seems to be back on their bikes and chasing back on.
-44km
The pace ratchets up suddenly to 61kph, with Visma, Ineos and Red Bull driving the peloton into the upcoming left-hand turn…
-46km
The hold pattern remains in place for now, but we could see more fireworks when the race flits into crosswind shortly. It’s striking that Pogacar has been constantly stationed so close to the front.
-50km
Delegations from Visma, Red Bull, UAE, Ineos, Movistar Soudal-QuickStep and Lidl are all lined up at the head of the bunch, mindful of the prospect of more splits when the course swings into another crosswind sector with 44km to go.
Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep), currently 7th overall, suffers a puncture. Tom Steels emerges from the team car to push the Basque on his way again, and it looks as though he will rejoin the fray without undue distress.
-54km
Alexey Lutsenko also dropped back to pace Cavendish, who is safely back in the peloton, which is whistling along a tailwind section for the next 10km or so.
Visma-Lease a Bike DS Grischa Niermann offers some praise for his team over the radio during this moment of relative calm. “We’re by far the best team in the hectic,” he says. It’s never nice to brag, but on the evidence so far, he’s probably right.
A lull in intensity sees another bike change for Mark Cavendish, who is presumably switching back to his original machine. He has Yevgeniy Fedorov and a television motorbike for company as he chases back on. You can imagine which one he’s happier to see.
-58km
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has also suffered a mechanical issue, but the Dane is quickly back up and running and chasing on through the cars behind the bunch.
A gentle admonishment was offered to the UAE Team Emirates riders after the race came back together. “Guys be careful, Tadej cannot remain alone in a situation like this,” Andrej Hauptman says in a grab from race radio provided by the host broadcaster.
-61km
Pogacar has a phalanx of teammates with him now after they were surprisingly caught out by the earlier split. The yellow jersey himself, mind, was perfectly placed throughout. There are remarkably few gaps in his armoury and, on the evidence of the recent Giro d’Italia, he will fancy his chances of laying down another marker in tomorrow’s key time trial.
-64km
Cavendish is safely back on and the peloton has regrouped, but you would have to imagine this is but a temporary truce given the conditions. The wind is only 19kph or so at the moment and the tree cover is also serving to limit the impact.
-66km
Visma, Red Bull, Movistar and Bahrain occupy the front rows of the bunch, where the tension is palpable…
Cavendish makes it back to the bunch, but before he rejoins the fray, he stops to have a word with the commissaires before tucking in behind their car.
Primoz Roglic hasn’t had the sharpest opening to this Tour, but his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad has been excellently placed here and they might sense this is an opportunity to claw back some of the time spilled so far.
Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R) has suffered a mechanical problem, and Cavendish sweeps past the Austrian as he barrels back towards the bunch.
-69km
Cavendish is in the cars behind the main peloton, 33 seconds down on the head of the bunch. The race hits another crosswind section with 65km to go, so Cavendish could really do with getting back on by then.
But while the bomb has been diffused, the tension remains. There are still almost 70km on exposed roads to go. It would be a surprise if there aren’t further splits on the road to Dijon. UAE surely can’t make the same mistake again.
-70km
The television coverage presents some worried radio chatter from UAE as they realise Pogacar is alone in this very small front group. But the second group has just managed to get back on, so the yellow jersey will have some teammates for company again. They got away with one there….
At the back of the race, meanwhile, Cavendish is mouthing off at the television motorbike, seemingly unhappy at the attention being paid to his attempt to chase back on.
-73km
UAE Team Emirates are scrambling to lead the chase in the second group, 20 seconds down on the front group, where Pogacar is completely isolated… A mechanical for the Slovenian at this point would be ruinous.
-76km
Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, Carlos Rodriguez and Egan Bernal are all safely in the front group, together with Arnaud De Lie, Biniam Girmay and Fernando Gaviria. There are about 60 riders in this front group – but Tadej Pogacar appears to be the only UAE rider in it…
Ineo are also riding on the front, which clearly means Carlos Rodriguez is in this front group, which has 20 seconds on the rest of the peloton and 1:18 on Cavendish.
-79km
And the split has happened… Visma-Lease a Bike started it, but now Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar have joined in at the front. They must know what’s happening behind and they’re eager to push on. Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel are safely in this front group of 50 or so riders, and I believe Primoz Roglic is in there too.
-80km
A very ill-time meachanical issue for Mark Cavendish, who is forced to a halt just as the peloton is fully lined out and just as some splits are beginning to form…
-82km
Ben Turner brings a delegation from Ineos towards the front in response to the forcing of Laporte, Van Aert and Tiesj Benoot for Visma-Lease a Bike, who look to be trying to force the issue in the crosswinds before the race swings onto a section of cross-tailwind. The peloton is lined out behind them…
-85km
Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte hit the front of the race with intent for Visma-Lease a Bike, and the tension ratchets up another notch or six in the peloton.
-88km
UAE Team Emirates are also posted at the head of affairs for yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar. At this point, the tension is being created by the succession of villages and traffic islands on the route, but it’s worth noting that the race swings from crosswind into tailwind in about 10km or so, and that could be a crucial pinchpoint in this race…
-91km
The speed is ratcheting upwards and so is the tension, but the peloton remains intact. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Visma-Lease a Bike are still occupying prime real estate near the head of the bunch, mindful of the risks on this stretch of road.
Two problems. They launched immediately before the race swung into a tree-lined section and, in truth, everybody was ready for a move like that. The status quo remains, with a nervous peloton still tightly bunched.
-95.5km
And, just like that, Lotto Dstny take up the reins and inject some pace in a bid to split the field on behalf of Arnaud De Lie…
-98km
The bunch hits a very exposed section of road, but there is no indication that any team is minded to try to split the field this far out from the finish. It’s not clear if the crosswind is quite strong enough to make the effort worthwhile too.
-101km
The tension in the peloton is exacerbated still further by a sequence of road furniture on the approach to Germolles. So far, everybody is through safely and the roads are drying out again as the sun pokes its way through the clouds once more.
-106km
To paraphrase Eavan Boland, things are getting ready to happen – but not yet. The peloton is still grouped together and travelling at a relatively steady pace, but the lingering threat of echelons is weighing heavily upon this race.
-112km
The peloton is on wet roads once again as the pace passes through Buxy. The bunch is still massed together, with the bulk of the GC teams still gathered towards the head of the field.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Lance Armstrong’s first day in the yellow jersey on the 1999 Tour de France, the first of seven straight wins that would later be stricken from the record books when he was finally sanctioned in 2012. Armstrong and manager Johan Bruyneel were given lifetime bans, but they haven’t gone away – nor, indeed, have many of Armstrong’s 1999 teammates, some of whom remain prominent figures in cycling today. Patrick Fletcher has pieced the story of what everybody on the 1999 US Postal team is doing now, and you can read his feature here.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
-119km
There’s plenty of tension on this stretch of their course, but no crosswind excitement just yet. The host broadcaster has been offering some snatches from race radio, and the teams are all issuing familiar instructions about the need to be together in numbers towards the front.
A Welsh flag fluttering on the roadside confirms the crosswind at this point. Delegations from Visma, UAE and Ineos are all massed towards the front, though they appear to be positioned for safety rather than with the express intention of trying to force an echelon.
-125km
The intensity in the peloton has abated since that intermediate sprint, and for now at least, nobody appears to be tempted to throw themselves onto the offensive. It is striking that the GC riders are all moving up, flanked by their teams. The wind isn’t likely to be strong enough to split the field here, but caution is the byword.
Intermediate sprint – result
1 Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 20 pts
2 Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) 17
3 Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 15
4 Arnaud Demare (Arkea-B&B Hotels) 13
5 Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) 11
6 Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dsnty) 10
7 Sam Bennet (Decathlon-AG2R) 9
8 Mike Teunissen (Intermarché-Wanty) 8
9 Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty) 7
10 Dorian Godon (Decathlon-AG2R) 6
11 Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) 5
12 Jai Hindley(Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) 4
13 Oliver Naesen (Decathlon-AG2R) 3
14 Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) 2
15 Oscar Onley (DSM) 1
Girmay’s points classification lead is up to ten points over Pedersen thanks to his second place in that intermediate sprint.
-132km
Victor Campenaerts leads out the sprint for Arnaud De Lie, and the Belgian is so strong he briefly rides off the front alone. He sits up before the sprint, where Jasper Philipsen takes the verdict ahead of Biniam Girmay, with Mads Pedersen third across the line.
-135km
Abrahamsen and Zingle’s sortie comes to an end 3km shy of the intermediate sprint. They’re swept up by the bunch, where the speed is ratcheting steadily upwards.
-138km
Zingle and Abrahamsen are still lingering out in front, 40 seconds clear of the peloton. The sprinters’ teams are moving into position ahead of the intermediate sprint, but the speed is relatively steady for now.
Abrahamsen and Zingle continue to shoot the breeze out in front, and the peloton is drawing inexorably closer. 45 seconds the gap.
The intermediate sprint in Cormatin is just over 10km away, and there will be an injection of pace from the bunch as it draws closer. Meanwhile, the rain has abated, the sun has re-emerged and the road beneath their wheels is dry.
-144km
Zingle and Abrahamsen have 1:15 in hand on the bunch but they don’t seem minded to persist in their effort. The pair are chatting amiably now rather than riding through and off like they were initially. The peloton, however, has spread across the road, so they might stay out there a little longer.
Zingle was involved in a notable incident in yesterday’s finale – or perhaps more accurately, he helped to limit the impact of an incident. When Mads Pedersen crashed in the finishing straight, Zingle had the presence of mind and reflexes to bunnyhop the fallen Dane rather than ride into him, and that act might well have prevented bringing down more riders. Simone Giuliani has more here.
-149km
Break:
Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis)
Peloton at 0:42
Abrahamsen certainly isn’t hanging around. After losing the green jersey to Biniam Girmay yesterday, the Norwegian seems to be keen to pick up maximum points at the intermediate sprint after 30km. He presses on the pace with Zingle, and the gap is stretching out.
Zingle presses on over the other side. Abrahamsen might have been expected to sit up after the climb, but the Norwegian opts to come through and give Zingle a few turns. The two escapees have half a minute in hand on the bunch.
-153km
Zingle lets Abrahamsen take the point at the summit. This duo has a lead of 25 seconds over the peloton at the top.
A polka-dotted Abrahamsen clips off the front of the bunch with 700m of the climb remaining in search of the solitary mountains point at the summit, though he’s being hunted by Axel Zingle (Cofidis) .
-155km
The bunch is still intact as hits the base of the category 4 Col bu Blois Clair (1.6km at 6%), with rain still falling gently over the Tour.
-157km
Jonas Vingegaard is among the riders tucked in near the head of the peloton beneath this spitting rain. The pace has settled down a little bit, but there will surely be a move from the king of the mountains Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) on the Bois Clair.
Tadej Pogacar, Biniami Girmay and Mark Cavendish at the start in Macon (Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton is rolling though the light rain shower, still travelling at a decent rate of knots. Unlike the tentative opening to the previous sprint stages, there’s a tension in the air here, thanks largely to the early climb and the early intermediate sprint.
-160km
The pace is brisk, mind, in these opening kilometres. And the aerial shot also shows that rain is falling a little bit ahead of the race. The peloton will hit the foot of the short category 4 Col du Bois Clair in 5km.
-163km
The flag drops and stage 6 of the Tour de France is formally under way. There is no immediate attack, and the early excitement is provided by an aerial shot of a field-sized homage to local hero Antoine Griezmann, who will, of course, be in action for France at Euro 2024 tomorrow night against Portugal.
It’s 22°C at the start in Mâcon, where the sun has poked through the clouds. The wind is little more than a breeze for now, at 16kph, and so any echelons, if they come, will surely be for the final hour, when the wind is forecast to pick up. Yesterday, like on stage 3 to Turin, there was a very low-key start to proceedings – although the early category 4 climb and the intermediate sprint in Cormatin after 31km might make for a more intense opening today.
The peloton has rolled away from the start in Mâcon and is navigating the neutralised zone.
Biniam Girmay lines up in the green jersey, having moved to the top of the classification yesterday. (Image credit: Getty Images)
The roll-out is just 25 minutes away, and there will have been a lot of discussion on the team buses in Mâcon about this stage’s potential for echelons. Those in the know suggest the opening part of the stage and the last 45km are most exposed to crosswinds. Vigilance will be key.
Eddy Merckx has paid his own tribute to Mark Cavendish for claiming sole ownership of the record for Tour stage wins. “Congratulations to Mark Cavendish on this historic achievement! Such a nice guy to break my record,” Merckx said in a post on Instagram. James Moultrie has more here.
General classification after stage 5
1 Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 23:15:24
2 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep 0:00:45
3 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Visma – Lease a Bike 0:00:50
4 Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:10
5 Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull – Bora- Hansgrohe 0:01:14
6 Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:16
7 Mikel Landa (Spa) Soudal-QuickStep 0:01:32
8 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
9 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl – Trek 0:03:20
10 Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:03:21
Today’s run from Mâcon to Dijon is a flat one, with just a single category 4 climb – the early Col du Bois Clair – on the agenda. Another bunch sprint would appear to be inevitable. The peloton rolls out at 13.35 CET, with the race scheduled to hit kilometre zero at 13.50.
Coach Vasilis Anastopoulos was a key figure in Cavendish’s surprising renaissance at QuickStep in 2021 and he has been essential to the Manxman’s success again here after joining Astana-Qazaqstan’s staff during the off-season. He introduced spells of altitude training to Cavendish’s preparation this year, and the sprinter also spent sustained spells at Anastopoulos’ home in Greece in the build-up to the Tour. Anastopoulos was confident in Cavendish’s Tour prospects after poring over his training files from the week after the Tour de Suisse. “The data I had told me was capable of doing that,” he said. “He came back to Greece immediately after the Tour de Suisse, and we did sprint work for the whole week because of all the climbs he had done before.” Read the full story here.
When Cavendish walked back his retirement decision last summer, the prospect of a record-breaking 35th stage win seemed the obvious draw, even if lead-out man Michael Mørkøv suggested to Cyclingnews earlier this year that surpassing Eddy Merckx’s mark was more of an excuse to keep racing than a burning goal in itself. Certainly, Cavendish has no intention of turning the rest of this Tour into a lap of honour now that feat has been achieved. Today’s finale in Dijon offers another opportunity. “First and foremost, I’ll try and enjoy it and secondly we’ll try and be successful again because that’s fundamentally our job,” Cavendish said. “I love this race, I always have loved this race. I love this race when I ride, I love this race when I watch it, and I’ll always give it 100%.” Dani Ostanek has more here.
Welcome to Cyclingnews‘ live coverage of stage 6 of the 2024 Tour de France. Tadej Pogačar holds the yellow jersey, but most headlines are for Mark Cavendish this morning after he broke the record he shared with Eddy Merckx and won his 35th Tour stage in Saint-Vulbas yesterday. Stephen Farrand was on the scene for us and sends this account.
