Key events
175km to go: If you were unaware of the Tour’s new wheeze of disciplining guilty (or entirely innocent in the case of Coquard) riders with retrospective yellow cards for “every touch of shoulders, switch of wheels, dramatic acceleration and multilingual insult”, Jeremy Whittle has an explainer …
178km to go: Tim Wellens (Emirates-XRG) is at the front of a peloton chasing down Schmid and Wout van Aert. The gap has been closed after 17 kilometres of effort from the duo. It’s all back together …
187 km to go: Coquard was involved in the crash that resulted in Jasper Philipsen having to abandon the race and received a yellow card from race jury who seem to fall over themselves each year in their efforts to find new and annoying ways to mire their this great event in petty disciplinary bureaucracy.
While most people on the Tour seemed to put the accident down as just one of those things that happen in bike-racing that nobody was to blame for, Coquard was disciplined and is now one more yellow card from being thrown off the race. It would be fair to say the sprinter is not happy.
“Obviously, it wasn’t my intention to cause a crash; I didn’t want to take any risks,” said Coquard, before learning he would be disciplined. for irregular sprinting “I was clearly thrown off balance; I almost lost my shoe. Even if it wasn’t intentional, I want to apologise to Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck. Even if I’m not a bad guy, it’s not pleasant.”
The following day, having described his own injuries as feeling like he’d been “hit by a car”, Coquard said: “In this situation, there was never any intentional or aggressive action on my part. It was the start of Jonathan Milan’s sprint that made me move a bit. I was level with his derailleur, the Intermarché-Wanty rider came in as well, our handlebars touched, I got off balance, and the rest is history.”
190km to go: Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) drops out of the peloton to ride alongside the medical car and takes a bandag from the doctor. Rolling along at 60 kilometres with just one hand on his bars, he pulls down the sock on his left ankle and begins dressing a wound.
192km to go: Ineos Grenadiers and the Emirates-XRG team of Tadej Pogacar have shut down the attack but Van Aert and Schmid still have a lead of about five seconds on the bunch. Can they snap the elastic?
They’re racing in stage seven!
194km to go: Protruding from the sun-roof of his official race Skoda, race director Christian Prudhomme waves his yellow flag and the cyclists take off. Almost immediately, about 25 riders put the hammer down and try to escape. Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla0) are among them, leading the charge.
Oscar Onley: The Scottish Picnic PostalNL rider is 11th on General Classification but his team boss said on Wednesday that he’s more interested in the 22-year-old from Kelso trying to nick a stage win or two than finishing high up the GC. Onley is a good climber and today’s is a stage he’ll have marked down as a potential win.
Christian Prudhomme on today’s stage: “The peloton’s stay in Brittany will kick off with another contest between the puncheurs,” said the race director. “After leaving Saint-Malo and heading for Saint-Brieuc, history buffs will recall the exploits of Bernard Hinault as the race passes through his home village of Yffiniac.
“But everyone’s attention will be focused very much on the present as the double ascent of the Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne approaches. A warning to attackers who are a bit too eager – it’s a climb where tactical sense is almost as decisive as physical strength.”
Today’s roll-out is under way: For the eighth time in Tour history, a stage begins in the picturesque Breton town of Saint-Malo. The riders are due to be given the signal to start racing in about five minutes.
KOM classification: top five after stage six
Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) 7pts
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 5pts
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) 4pts
Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-Alula) 3pts
Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) 3pts
Points classification: top five after stage six
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 112
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck),108
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 106
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) 102
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 72
General Classification: top 10 after stage six
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 21hrs 52mins 34secs
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +1sec
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) +43secs
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +1min
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 14secs
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 23secs
João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +1min 59secs
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +2mins 1sec
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +2min 32secs
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +2min 36secs
Healy wins stage six as Van der Poel reclaims yellow
Stage six report: Ireland’s Ben Healy struck out alone to win his first ever stage of the Tour de France, with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel wrestling back the leader’s yellow jersey from reigning champion Tadej Pogacar. Jeremy Whittle reports from Vire …
Stage seven: Saint-Malo to Mûr-de-Bretagne (194km)
William Fotheringham’s stage seven guide: Day one in Brittany is more straightforward, passing Bernard Hinault’s village of Yffiniac – 40 years since the Badger became the last French Tour winner – before two ascents of Mûr de Bretagne to conclude. The finish up the “Wall” is harder than anything the race has tackled to date, and you’d expect Pogacar to make a statement of intent, but it will also suit Van der Poel, winner here in 2021.
