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91st Tour de France - July 3-25, 2004
Main Page Stages & Results Stage Profile Latest Live Report Results
Stage 6 - Friday July 9: Bonneval - Angers, 196 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from Tim Maloney and Chris Henry
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 12:50 CEST
Estimated finish time: 17:10 CEST
12:46 CEST
Welcome to the live coverage of the sixth stage of the Tour de France, brought
to you by Cyclingnews. Today's 196 km leg starts in Bonneval, in the departement
of Eure-et-Loir, and heads southwest to Angers (Maine-et-Loire), which is a
UNESCO designated world heritage. Angers, while being home to Cointreau, is
dominated by the chateau du Roi Rene, and is classified as a "city of art and
history".
There are no climbs in today's flat stage, which means Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step)
just has to finish in order to keep the polka dotted mountains jersey. There
are the usual three intermediate sprints en route, at Mondoubleau (km 51.5),
Le Lude (km 132) and Fontaine-Milon (km 168).
The wind will be from the southwest at the start - almost a direct headwind
- before turning to northwest towards the finish, which will be a crosswind.
Although it's not raining at the moment, it is expected to as the afternoon
wears on, and some thunderstorms are predicted. It will be another soggy day
for the riders, no doubt.
The stage will start without super sprinters Mario Cipollini and Alessandro
Petacchi, who both abandoned this morning as a result of injuries sustained
in crashes during stage 3 and stage 5 respectively. For more information, click
here.
12:57 CEST 4km/192km to go
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13:02 CEST 8km/188km to go
The attacks are continuing as the skies are starting to clear. 12 riders have
attacked, including Knaven (Quick.Step) and Lang (Gerolsteiner).
13:04 CEST
The break has been caught, but the attacks continue into this stiff headwind.
13:10 CEST 12km/184km to go
Jimmy Engoulvent (Cofidis), Michele Bartoli (CSC) and Sergio Maringangeli (Domina
Vacanze) are the next riders to attack at the 8 km mark, and they are joined
by three more. But the peloton has reacted behind them.
13:11 CEST 14km/182km to go
Estonian sprinter Janek Tombak (Cofidis) is now on his own in front, with a
small lead.
13:14 CEST 15km/181km to go
Tombak has been caught and the peloton is once again back together. The start
has been aggressive, as usual, but sometimes it can take over an hour before
a break gets away.
13:17 CEST 18km/178km to go
There's been a crash! Lance Armstrong is involved, but is back on his bike.
13:19 CEST
Armstrong is in the second peloton, but all of his available teammates quickly
work with him to recapture the front group. Liberty Seguros also lend a hand
too, so perhaps Heras was involved in the crash. It's reported that riders from
Gerolsteiner, FDJeux.com, Domina Vacanze and Lotto-Domo went down.
13:21 CEST 20km/176km to go
The peloton is back together after the crash a few kilometres back. We're not
certain how badly anyone is injured, but it doesn't seem to serious at the moment.
13:28 CEST 25km/171km to go
The attacks have resumed, and Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio), Marc Lotz (Rabobank)
and Carlos Da Cruz (FDJeux.com) have escaped at the 21 km mark. They have 10
seconds lead at the moment.
13:29 CEST
The three leaders are joined by Engoulvent (Cofidis) and Flecha (Fassa Bortolo).
13:32 CEST 27km/169km to go
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13:34 CEST 29km/167km to go
Arvesen is the best placed on GC, lying 25th at 10'39, but it seems that the
peloton doesn't want to let these six riders go. The gap has now been brought
back to 20 seconds.
13:41 CEST 35km/161km to go
The six leaders are persisting with their effort, but the peloton hasn't let
them get more than 30 seconds. Let's see who cracks first...
13:45 CEST 37km/159km to go
Slowly but surely, this six man break of Arvesen, Flecha, Engoulvent, Bertolini,
Lotz and Da Cruz is gaining ground over the peloton. The latest time check is
40 seconds at the 36 km mark.
There are several good motors in this break: Arvesen, Bertolini and Flecha are
all good rouleurs.
13:49 CEST 39km/157km to go
The break's lead has gone out to the magic minute, with the peloton being towed
by race leader Thomas Voeckler's Brioches la Boulangère team. They have 10'39
to play with today, as that's how far the best placed rider in the break (Arvesen)
is behind Voeckler on GC.
At km 39, the lead is 1'20. This looks like the break of the day.
13:53 CEST 41km/155km to go
The peloton slows and allows the breakaways more time. Nature is calling many
riders in the bunch at the moment, and there is no option but to answer the
call.
13:58 CEST 45km/151km to go
The first sprint of the day is coming up fairly soon in Mondoubleau (km 51.5),
but it's of not much interest to the breakaways in terms of either points or
time bonuses. Arvesen is the best placed rider in the points GC, but he is only
in 21st place on 23 points, so an extra 18 points today won't put him in within
striking distance of the green jersey.
After 45 km, the gap is 2'05 and stable.
14:00 CEST
The riders covered 41.5 km in the first hour, which is not bad going into a
block headwind. The usual for a Tour stage is 45-50 km/h in the first hour (with
no wind), but if there's a tailwind it can be as much as 60 km/h on the flat.
There was a stage a couple of years ago into Pau that had a start like that.
14:05 CEST 51km/145km to go
The gap continues to grow as the six leaders approach the first sprint, and
it will be around 3 minutes once they get to Mondoubleau. The escape started
at km 21 when Bertolini, Da Cruz and Flecha attacked, and they were joined by
Engoulvent, Lotz and Arvesen.
14:11 CEST 55km/141km to go
At the first sprint, it's Carlos Da Cruz (FDJeux.com) taking the six points
ahead of Bertolini and Arvesen. The peloton is 3'00 behind, being led by Brioches
la Boulangère, which will try to keep this break at a reasonable distance in
order not to threaten Voeckler's maillot jaune.
14:19 CEST 61km/135km to go
Cyclingnews spoke to FDJeux.com's Bernhard Eisel this morning before the start.
The Austrian sprinter hasn't been seen contending for the bunch sprints yet,
because "My main job is to work for Baden Cooke unless he feels really bad,
in which case I could have my own chance in the sprint."
Eisel added, "Baden is feeling very good and I think he can come away with a
stage win. Yesterday we had a bit of bad luck [referring to McGee's abandon]
but we're hoping things turn around today.
After his crash in one of the earlier stages, Eisel said that, "I'm feeling
basically fine. The shoulder's a little stiff but that's nothing that would
stop me in a sprint or from helping Baden."
The leaders now have 3'44 after 61 km.
14:27 CEST 67km/129km to go
The six leaders are now passing through Savigny-sur-Braye, having covered 66
km of the 196 km on the plan today. Their lead is hovering at 3'45 at the moment,
with Brioches la Boulangère exerting a tight control over the peloton.
14:30 CEST 70km/126km to go
Phonak captain Tyler Hamilton punctures, but is quickly helped back to the peloton
by his teammates.
14:38 CEST 77km/119km to go
Quick.Step has moved to the front to help Brioches la Boulangère set the tempo.
The gap has crept up to 4'04 at the 72 km mark. Quick.Step has to take over
some of the responsibility now that Fassa and Domina Vacanze are without their
sprinters, and have no interest in chasing.
Yesterday's stage winner Stuart O'Grady was asked by Belgian Sporza TV
what he thought of the two abandons today. "Soft Italians!" he said jokingly.
"Seriously, they're the best sprinters in the world. Both of them had injuries
and they've had a hard start to the tour. Just about everyone has crashed -
I've had three crashes."
14:46 CEST 82km/114km to go
The riders are enjoying dry conditions at the moment as they battle at 25 km/h
headwind. Thomas Voeckler is enjoying a nice ride in yellow behind his teammates,
who are being helped by Quick.Step. Servais Knaven is doing his job as usual,
hoping that Tom Boonen will be able to finish it off with a stage win today.
Speaking of Knaven, according to the Polar
website, Knaven's average heart rate during yesterday's fifth stage was
just 114 bpm! He hit 178 bpm in the prologue, which gives you an idea of how
much shelter you get in a peloton.
14:48 CEST
The six leaders are rolling around well together, although Arvesen with his
heavily bandaged leg, is hanging at the back at the moment. Juan Antonio Flecha
is doing strong turns - he won the stage to Toulouse in the Tour last year.
14:53 CEST 87km/109km to go
The hierarchy of the peloton is quite plain to see at the moment: In front it's
Brioches and Quick Step riding tempo, with the yellow jersey of Voeckler well
protected. Right behind Voeckler is US Postal with Lance Armstrong being sheltered.
Next to them are Phonak, with Tyler Hamilton. Behind Postal and Phonak are T-Mobile
and Euskaltel.
It's a pretty relaxed pace at the moment unless you're in front. The gap is
still around 4 minutes after 87 km of racing.
14:55 CEST 89km/107km to go
The speed has lifted in the second hour with over 44 km covered, and the average
speed after two hours of racing is 42.9 km/h. The skies are not blue, but it's
not looking like raining just yet.
15:00 CEST 91km/105km to go
The six leaders (Arvesen, Engoulvent, Da Cruz, Bertolini, Flecha and Lotz) are
at the feed zone in Ruille-sur-Loire (km 90). Arvesen grabs a feed bag and spends
some time unwinding it before he can slip it over his shoulder to get at the
goodies inside.
The bunch is still 4'13 behind.
15:04 CEST 94km/102km to go
The peloton reaches the feed zone now with Quick.Step's Bramati driving the
bunch along. Behind him, the Brioches team take the opportunity to grab a few
croissants.
15:09 CEST 98km/98km to go
The break has called a time out to commune with nature - perhaps because of
a mechanical problem for Engoulvent. Gradually they come back together and resume
their toil in front of the race. The lead is around 4'25 at the moment.
Engoulvent is a local boy from the Sarthe area, so he will be familiar with
today's parcours.
15:17 CEST 101km/95km to go
Erik Zabel is off the back of the peloton, chasing on with a few others including
McEwen and Boonen after getting a bottle from the team car, it looks like. Erik
Dekker is back there too, talking to his Rabobank car.
It's reported that Lance Armstrong is OK after his crash earlier in the stage
(km 14).
The leaders are over the halfway mark now, and have extended their lead out
to 4'44. But it's coming back down again after the peloton has refueled itself
at the feed zone.
The sun is coming out at last!
15:19 CEST
A couple of Lotto riders - Vansevenant and Moerenhout - have got to the front
of the bunch to help the chase. The gap to the six leaders is now 4'00 and quite
manageable.
15:25 CEST 108km/88km to go
The speed has picked up in the peloton a tad, as Lotto, Quick.Step and Brioches
continue to chase the six breakaways. The wind is not quite as strong as yesterday
and the speed has been a lot higher today.
Floyd Landis shares a joke with his teammates - he is the front rider for US
Postal and is right on maillot jaune Thomas Voeckler's wheel.
15:35 CEST 114km/82km to go
82 km to go and we still have the same six leaders: Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team
CSC), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Jimmy Engoulvent (Cofidis), Alessandro
Bertolini (Alessio-Bianchi), Marc Lotz (Rabobank) and Carlos Dacruz (Fdjeux.com).
On GC, Arvesen is the best placed in 25th at 10'39, so at the moment he presents
no threat to Thomas Voeckler's maillot jaune.
The chase behind is being controlled by Brioches, Quick.Step and Lotto, and
the gap is 3'47 at the moment.
15:38 CEST 116km/80km to go
The roads are a little wet as the leaders approach Vaas with 78 km to go. It's
not raining now, but it was earlier.
15:45 CEST 122km/74km to go
Robbie McEwen is off the back of the bunch, being towed up by four of his Lotto
teammates. The bibs of his shorts are noticeably undone. We hope it wasn't the
fish! He's doing them up now, Houdini style.
Richard Virenque punctures.
Speaking of which, we've had a lot of questions about the tyres that the Phonak
team are riding on. We think they're Continental tubulars, but very lightweight
ones. All the rain hasn't helped with punctures, as water acts as a lubricant
for any cutting debris on the road. Speaking from personal experience, I've
had to throw away a lightweight racing tyre after a week of riding in the rain,
because it contained so many cuts.
15:50 CEST 125km/71km to go
The next bonus sprint is coming up soon at Le Lude (km 132). The leaders have
4'16 advantage, and have never been more than 5'00 ahead today. A totally different
situation to yesterday, but then US Postal didn't really want to defend the
lead, while Brioches la Boulangère most certainly does want to today.
15:56 CEST 129km/67km to go
The makeup of the six man break is similar to yesterday: there's a CSC, Alessio,
FDJeux.com and Cofidis rider there. No fabulous Brioches la Boulangère baker
boy though.
There's a few drops of rain falling now and there's a great big black cloud
hanging over Angers.
15:58 CEST 131km/65km to go
Right on cue, it starts raining just before the second sprint in Le Lude. The
six leaders are almost there.
16:00 CEST 132km/64km to go
The leaders continue working before the sprint, despite the 800 euro on offer.
Arvesen attacks early and gets Bertolini on his wheel, but it's Carlos Da Cruz
(Fdjeux.com) who comes from behind and takes the sprint from Arvesen and Bertolini.
16:05 CEST 136km/60km to go
There are about 10 riders working on the front of the peloton now, which has
really stretched out as it turns on the gas in pursuit of the leaders. 60 clicks
to go so now is the time to chase. It's Lotto-Domo, Quick.Step, Gerolsteiner
and Ag2r at the front, with a token Brioches rider. The gap is 4'19.
It's stopped raining now and the skies are blue again, as the big black cloud
is now behind the riders.
16:09 CEST 138km/58km to go
For anyone who has asked - and we know there will be more - the yellow boxes
on the riders chainstays are timing transponders in order to record finish times
and obtain results very quickly.
Please see our FAQ
for more answers to questions.
16:10 CEST 139km/57km to go
Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) gets a rather "long" bottle from his team director at
the back of the peloton. Meanwhile his teammates are up the front, working hard
and have brought the gap down to 3'35. Gerolsteiner's Peschel is working, as
are Lotto's Moerenhout and Vansevenant, Quick.Step's Knaven and Zanini, and
a couple of Ag2r riders.
The roads are still a little wet after the recent storm.
16:16 CEST 143km/53km to go
The peloton is in a very long snake now in full pursuit of the six breakaways.
There are still 53 km to go, and the leaders have just 3'10 of their advantage.
16:19 CEST
The average speed after three hours is 42.1 km/h, after the third hour was covered
at 40.5 km/h. That means that the peloton has to pick up 3.6 seconds per kilometre
in order to catch the break, which at current pace requires an average speed
of 44 km/h. That shouldn't be too difficult.
16:23 CEST 148km/48km to go
The combined Lotto/Quick.Step/Gerolsteiner/Ag2r train is rapidly pulling in
the six man breakaway, which has been out in front since 21 km. The leaders
are still working well together, all taking their turns. Da Cruz is chatting
to his team director and seems pretty happy. Plenty of exposure for FDJeux.com
today.
The gap is now just 2'40. The bunch is really motoring.
16:27 CEST 151km/45km to go
Brandt (Lotto-Domo) has moved to the front to help his teammates chase. Servais
Knaven (Quick.Step) has been there pretty much all day. Maybe his team director
saw his heart rate yesterday and decided that he wasn't working hard enough!
2'28 with 45 km to go. Ce n'est pas possible.
16:29 CEST
Jakob Piil (CSC) is lurking at the back of the peloton. Not surprising after
his huge day out yesterday.
In the front of the peloton, Vansevenant opens a can of coke and drinks most
of it, before offering it to his teammate. "Oh, did you want some? Sorry..."
16:32 CEST 155km/41km to go
There's not much to describe today in terms of scenery. It's flat with plenty
of wheat fields and open plains. There aren't too many people out to watch,
except when the race passes through towns.
2'29 and holding. The leaders are working harder as they race through Bauge
with 40 km to go. Lots of people here!
16:34 CEST 157km/39km to go
Bertolini signals for his team car, perhaps for something to eat or maybe a
mechanical problem. He just wants a bottle, and quickly gets one from the Alessio-Bianchi
car. He drinks it, throws it away and gets another. His director Fabrizio Fabri
throws in some free advice too.
16:37 CEST 159km/37km to go
The peloton is now racing through Bauge, 2'25 behind the six leaders. It's still
the same teams chasing: Lotto-Domo, Ag2r, Gerolsteiner and Quick.Step. McEwen,
Nazon, Kirsipuu, Hondo and Boonen are all in with good chances today.
But first, the break has to be caught. Juan Antonio Flecha does a strong turn
up a small climb. Then Arvesen grimaces as he takes over.
16:41 CEST 160km/36km to go
The peloton passes a small group of fans sitting in a tractor with an Allez
Voeckler sign proudly displayed. Voeckler is the 80th French rider to wear the
yellow jersey.
The time differential is now 2'06 and falling again. But the leaders are certainly
not giving up. Anything can happen to disrupt a chase, as we saw yesterday.
And there are more black clouds hovering in the distance.
16:42 CEST 162km/34km to go
The last intermediate sprint is coming up at Fontaine-Milon with 28 km to go.
The breakaways will certainly stay clear for it. Maybe another 800 euros/6 points/6
seconds for Da Cruz?
It's now under 2 minutes.
16:44 CEST 164km/32km to go
The bunch passes another tractor with "Baden" on it, no doubt referring to a
certain FDJeux.com sprinter. Not much farming is being done today in this part
of France. There'll be a strike, mark my words.
Bramati comes to the front of the chase to do his turn, stretching his back
out a bit. It's about 10 against 6 at the moment.
16:48 CEST 166km/30km to go
There are even fans standing in horse troughs today! It's a very rural stage.
The leading six, Arvesen, Flecha, Lotz, Da Cruz, Bertolini and Engoulvent have
30 clicks to go but just a 1'45 lead. The peloton still has to take back 3.5
seconds per kilometre.
16:49 CEST 167km/29km to go
Bertolini stretches himself and shakes his quads, trying to get some feeling
back into them. The leaders are quite close to the last sprint - 1 km away in
fact.
16:52 CEST 169km/27km to go
Bertolini misses a few turns as the sprint approaches, but it's Engoulvent who
takes off first and wins it. Da Cruz is second, followed by Bertolini. Flecha
and Lotz immediately counter, and Arvesen and Bertolini have to chase.
16:53 CEST
Flecha, Lotz and Da Cruz catch Engoulvent, while Arvesen and Bertolini have
to chase. The peloton is just 1'20 behind at the sprint.
16:54 CEST 171km/25km to go
The four leaders turn on the gas now, as they try to hold off the peloton. Bertolini
has cramped and is back with Arvesen. Marc Lotz looks very strong.
16:56 CEST
The four leaders have increased their gap to 1'33, and the chase will have to
work a bit harder now. The situation in front has changed with the remaining
four riders giving full gas.
Bertolini and Arvesen are 30 seconds behind the leaders.
17:00 CEST 174km/22km to go
Arvesen and Bertolini have sat up now, and the peloton absorbs them. In front
Flecha is powering away with his arms draped over the front of the bars. The
gap is up to 1'41! The sprinters teams will have to earn their money today and
they have realised it. Lotto has more riders in front, as have Gerolsteiner
and Ag2r.
17:01 CEST 176km/20km to go
These are excellent tactics by the breakaways - don't ride too fast for most
of the day and lull the rest into a false sense of security. But at the end...give
it everything. The gap is 1'44 and Flecha, Da Cruz, Engoulvent and Lotz have
just passed under the 20 km to go banner.
17:02 CEST 177km/19km to go
The same riders are working in the peloton: Vansevenant, Moerenhout, Brandt,
Zanini, Knaven, Peschel... But they're not pulling the leaders back yet.
17:04 CEST 178km/18km to go
The gap is 1'39 at 20 km to go, and the sprinters teams need more help. No Fassa
or Domina Vacanze to assist today, after Petacchi and Cipo packed this morning.
17:06 CEST 181km/15km to go
The leading quartet are turning over very smoothly and very fast. Engoulvent
is hungry for a "home" stage win while Flecha would surely like to add to his
TdF win in Toulouse last year.
The bunch has pulled back 10 seconds and it's 1'25 with 15 km to go. Verbrugghe
and Marichal are helping out the chase for Lotto.
17:08 CEST 182km/14km to go
The peloton is constantly being split in half by the many roundabouts en route
to Angers. That won't help the chase at all. US Postal is being vigilant near
the front, keeping Armstrong out of as much trouble as they can.
17:09 CEST 183km/13km to go
A couple of Credit Agricole riders have moved up, for Hushovd. The four leaders
are doing a great job in holding the peloton off - 1'20 with 13 km to go.
17:10 CEST 184km/12km to go
The gap is falling steadily as the strength of the chase increases. Hushovd
has moved up to about 10th wheel. The fresh Credit Agricole boys are really
helping and the gap has fallen to just over a minute.
17:12 CEST
In front, everyone is working hard. Lotz, Flecha, Engoulvent and Da Cruz are
all taking short turns. The bunch is not really strung out though.
17:13 CEST 185km/11km to go
11 km to go and the massive peloton is still 1'00 behind the four breakaways.
It's going to be very close, and will depend on how technical the finish is.
The more corners, the less likely that the bunch will catch the break.
17:14 CEST 186km/10km to go
The last five kilometres aren't too technical, which won't help the leaders.
55 seconds is the difference now.
In the last kilometre, there is a RH turn and then a LH turn with about 300m
to go. A perfect finish for a sprinter like McEwen.
17:15 CEST
The chase is in full flight now as Fabian Wegmann does a big turn for Gerolsteiner.
Brochard is up there for Ag2r. It's not 41 seconds and the break is surely doomed.
The peloton is now stretched.
17:16 CEST
Brochard takes over from Wegmann and does a big turn. Ag2r has two sprinters
in JP Nazon and Jaan Kirsipuu.
Less than 9 km to go, and Scanlon takes a turn in front. 31 seconds.
17:17 CEST 188km/8km to go
Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Jimmy Engoulvent (Cofidis), Marc Lotz (Rabobank)
and Carlos Dacruz (Fdjeux.com) have done well to stay out there all day but
with 8 km to go, it looks like they will be caught. The gap is under 30 seconds
now as the bunch winds it up.
17:18 CEST 190km/6km to go
The leaders haven't given up at all, and Flecha puts his head down and drives
it hard. Engoulvent takes over, then Lotz and Da Cruz. But it's only 21 seconds
with 6.5 km left.
17:19 CEST 190km/6km to go
Flecha attacks hard after a roundabout, and Engoulvent gets his wheel...not
quite. The other two catch Engoulvent and then sit up. Flecha is on his own.
17:20 CEST 191km/5km to go
Juan Antonio Flecha has 17 seconds lead over the peloton with 5 km to go. It's
possible, but unlikely. The other three are gone.
17:21 CEST 192km/4km to go
Flecha has 20 seconds with 4.5 km left, and is giving it everything. Fantastic
ride by the Fassa Bortolo man.
17:21 CEST
The other three are caught and Lotz pats Da Cruz on the back.
Flecha goes under 4 km with 18 seconds of his lead intact. Incredible.
17:22 CEST 193km/3km to go
The peloton is panicking, and is now 15 seconds behind the Fassa Bortolo rider.
Could he win his second Tour stage?
Erik Dekker is out the back. Rear wheel puncture.
17:23 CEST
3 km and 13 seconds. It's going to be very close. McEwen and Boonen have moved
up in the peloton, as have Kirsipuu, Hushovd and Hondo.
17:23 CEST 194km/2km to go
Flecha is struggling, and it's 10 seconds with just over 2 km to go. This will
be very very close.
17:24 CEST
Flecha rides down the long straight before the final kilometre with 5 seconds
of his lead intact. He will surely be caught now.
17:24 CEST 195km/1km to go
The peloton catches Flecha with 1 km to go.
17:26 CEST 196km/0km to go
Last kilometre - crash!! Right on the kilometre banner. The sprint is messy
and it's an Illes Balears rider who leads with 500m to go. Then Tom Boonen comes
off a Domina rider with 300m and sprints for the victory ahead of O'Grady!!!
Zabel third. That means O'Grady will probably take the points jersey.
17:26 CEST
Armstrong was caught behind the crash and is led home by Hincapie. The crash
was in the final kilometre, so nobody should be penalised on GC. McEwen, Hushovd
and Nazon were caught in the crash. Haselbacher looks bad, and is being attended
to by a medic. Hamilton comes in finally. Then the yellow jersey of Voeckler
a long way back.
Gibo Simoni rolls across accompanied by Celestino and Commesso and the rest
of his team. He doesn't look too happy.
That's all from us today, but we'll be back at the same Bat-time tomorrow for
Stage 7 of the Tour.
Results
Provisional 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step-Davitamon 4.33.41 2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Crédit Par Téléphone 3 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 4 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5 Baden Cooke (Aus) Fdjeux.com 6 Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 7 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangère 8 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole 9 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis - Le Crédit Par Téléphone 10 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R Prévoyance General classification after stage 6 1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Brioches
