Result: ANDREI GREIPEL FINALLY got his long-awaited sprint win on stage six but the day’s headlines belong to Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) who made Tour de France history by becoming the first African to wear the fabled yellow jersey.
How it happened: Cofidis’ Luis Maté was allowed fly solo on a breakaway for the first 44 kilometres but with plenty of sprint points on offer on today’s flat stage from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier, it came as no surprise when the peloton reeled him in.
The afternoon’s main drama came with 35 kilometres to when Mark Cavendish, seeking back-to-back stage wins after yesterday’s victory, was brought down in a touch of wheels. Battling hard, Cavendish made up the ground a few kilometres later and then fell just short of what would have been one of his most remarkable victories yet, chasing home in fourth place.
But the day belonged to Greipel who had to make do with fourth yesterday. His Lotto team took control over the closing metres and delivered the German champion for a perfect finish, seeing off Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel in the podium places.
The big winner: Orica Green-Edge. Though the yellow jersey changed hands from Simon Gerrans to Impey, it remains in control of the Australian team — the first team-mates have passed the jersey since the 2008 Tour.
Gerrans is now five seconds back in third place in the GC, with Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen splitting the two team-mates.
The big loser: Astana. They lost both Fredrik Kessiakoff and Janez Brajkovic today, leaving them with just six riders for the remainder of the Tour.
Who is wearing what jersey?
- Yellow (Overall): Daryl Impey
- Green (Points): Peter Sagan
- Polka-Dot (Mountains): Pierre Rolland
- White (Young Rider): Michal Kwiatkowski
What about the Irish? Nicolas Roche (32nd) and Dan Martin (42nd) both finished in the main bunch, five seconds behind the sprint. Roche remains ninth overall, 14 seconds behind Impey and the yellow jersey, while Martin is now 22 seconds back in 16th.
What happens tomorrow then? There’ll be some warm-up mountains on the 205-kilometre seventh stage from Montpellier to Albi, topping out at the Category 2 Col de la Croix de Mounis.
