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Mont Ventoux
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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
Iban Mayo
Photo ©: Chris Henry/CN
Click for larger image
After a very short neutral section out of Bonneval, Ag2r's Yuri Krivstov launched the first attack of the day, but he was immediately caught.

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
Kurt-Asle Arvesen
Photo ©: Chris Henry/CN
Click for larger image
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team CSC) gets across and we now have six leaders with 0'35 to the peloton: Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo), Jimmy Engoulvent (Cofidis), Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio-Bianchi), Marc Lotz (Rabobank), Carlos Dacruz (Fdjeux.com) and Arvesen.

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

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