Tour de France stage 6 result LIVE: Tadej Pogacar wins in Longwy and grabs hold of yellow jersey

Stage six of the Tour de France is the longest of the entire Tour and offers up opportunities for a breakaway and anyone with the legs for a hilly finish at the end of a hard 220km route.

The peloton begins in Binche, Belgium and travels south-east along the border with France before finishing in Longwy. The general classification contenders are unlikely to get into a scrap on such a day, given the Tour’s first summit finish arrives on Friday where there could be fireworks. That means a breakaway of riders outside the GC mix could be allowed to run free and make a move stick all the way to the finish.

Wout van Aert begins the day in the yellow jersey, despite crashing on stage 5 and then waiting up to help his team leader Jonas Vingegaard who had suffered a puncture. Fabio Jakobsen continues in green only because the points leader Van Aert is already wearing yellow, reigning champion Tadej Pogacar stays in the best young rider’s white jersey, while Magnus Cort still holds the polka dots of the King of the Mountains.

Follow all the latest updates from stage 6 of the 2022 Tour de France below:

Tour de France Stage 6

• Today’s route sees riders race 220km from Belgium to France

• Australian veteran Simon Clarke edges sprint finish among breakawayers in Stage 5

• Wout van Aert retained Yellow Jersey but Tadej Pogacar cuts gap

• Pogacar storms clear to win stage and grab Yellow Jersey

Tadej Pogacar wins Stage 6!

15:49 , Michael Jones

Tadej Pogacar wins Stage 6!

15:48 , Michael Jones

Who’s going to take the yellow jersey will it Neilson Powless or will it be Pogacar?

The bonus seconds he’s earned by finishing first may be enough for the reigning champion to swap out white for yellow tomorrow.

Tadej Pogacar wins Stage 6!

15:47 , Michael Jones

Tadej Pogacar wins Stage 6!

15:45 , Michael Jones

What a finish!

Primoz Roglic went for it from around 200m out but Tadej Pogacar catches him and blasts away from the Jumbo-Visma man in a sprint to the line to claim victory in stage 6.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:44 , Michael Jones

500m to go now. Primoz Roglic, with his shoulder problems, is up there. Dylan Teuns is also in contention. Don’t rule out Tadej Pogacar either.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:42 , Michael Jones

The rise to the finish line is on!

Alexis Vuillermoz of TotalEnergie has the lead with just over a kilometre and a half to go. Pogacar, Pidcock, Thomas and others are just waiting behind him.

They’re trying to time their sprints to the line.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:37 , Michael Jones

At the steepest part of the climb up Cote de Pulventeux Alexis Vuillermoz makes his move to strike out ahead of the pack. Tadej Pogacar leads the next attack too.

The Ineos team, including Geraint Thomas, have to respond.

Less than 5km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:34 , Michael Jones

Tadej Pogacar is now sitting pretty close to the front of the peloton. He’s got to be the favourite to take the yellow jersey and potentially the stage after a few of the sprinters have fallen away.

Aleksandr Vlasov crashes on the curve with Pogacar one of the riders just behind him but the Slovenian manages to avoid the pile up.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:31 , Michael Jones

There was a crash in the middle of the peloton just before they caught Wout van Aert. Janse van Rensburg, Madouas, and Kuss all involved causing a slight split in the peloton.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:30 , Michael Jones

Mathieu van der Poel gets dropped from the back of the peloton with Mads Pedersen, Dylan Groenewegen, and Caleb Ewan also falling away.

Wout van Aert gets reeled in by the pack and is out of gas, his fine ride comes to an end and he lets the bunch pass him by. There’ll be a new yellow jersey leader at the end of the day.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:25 , Michael Jones

The peloton can now see Van Aert just ahead of them. He reaches the peak of the climb and collects another KOM point.

Inside the final 15km now as Van Aert glides down the descent to preserve some energy.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:22 , Michael Jones

Wout van Aert hits the base of Cote de Motigny-Sur-Chiers. It’s a 1.6km climb with a 4.4% slope.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:19 , Michael Jones

A trio of Brits in Tom Pidcock, Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates are prominent for the Ineos Grenadiers team, as Filippo Ganna, their foremost man in the peloton for the last few kilometres drops away having done his stint as leader.

With 18km to go the average pace of today’s race has finally dipped under 50km/h.

It’s now 49.9km/h.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:17 , Michael Jones

20km to go.

Wout van Aert is 46 seconds ahead of the peloton. It’s only going to be a matter or time before he’s reigned in but it’s been a fantastic ride from the 27-year-old.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:13 , Michael Jones

On Stage 4, Wout van Aert took advantage of the final climb with the help of his Jumbo-Visma teammates before sprinting home from 10km out to win the stage.

It was a remarkable performance from the Belgian but if he can pull off a victory today this one will eclipse it.

The gap is one minute, two seconds with the next climb about 8km away.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:10 , Michael Jones

This is it then. 27km to go and Wout van Aert has jettisoned Quinn Simmons who is quickly scooped back into the peloton.

It’s now Van Aert versus the rest.

He’s extended his lead to one minute, 10 seconds.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:08 , Michael Jones

The peloton flies by the Meuse river as they continue to chip away at time gap which stands just over a minute.

Van Aert will surely bomb away on his own at some stage. He’s committed to seeing it through to the end now.

Nils Politt, the German rider for Bora–Hansgrohe, has put a huge shift in at the front of the chasing pack and drops back. It’s not been an easy day for the domestiques, pulling them along like an engine.

Tour de France Stage 6

15:01 , Michael Jones

Quinn Simmons looks like he’s feeling the pace of the breakaway now, there are a few heavy breaths coming from the American. Wout van Aert meanwhile looks fine. The Belgian really is a machine.

The gap is now just over a minute, the peloton will catch these two just before the roller coaster, hilly finish to stage 6.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:57 , Michael Jones

Despite the desire from Simmons and Van Aert to keep themselves in the breakaway their lead has once again been cut to one minute, 37 seconds.

37km to go. UAE Team Emirates are taking control of the peloton.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:48 , Michael Jones

47km left to go today and the peloton is nicely positioned in the race.

They’re holding firmly about two minutes behind the breakaway pair but that isn’t the most difficult time to chase if the teams decide to reel them in.

Van Aert and Simmons are flying at just a tick over 50km/h.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:37 , Michael Jones

Tour de France Stage 6

14:30 , Michael Jones

Less than 60 km to go in Stage 6. It’s a fairly flat run until the final 15km or so where the final two category climbs are.

Van Aert and Simmons have just upped the tempo a touch. They’re trying to extend their lead. It’s up to one minute, 55 seconds.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:25 , Michael Jones

Jakob Fuglsang stopped for a comfort break before dropping back into the peloton. The breakaway is now only Wout van Aert and Quinn Simmons.

The gap is one minute, 42 seconds and falling. It won’t be too long before they are reeled in as well.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:23 , Michael Jones

Here are the full results of intermediate sprint at Carignan:

1. Wout van Aert, 20 pts

2. Jakob Fuglsang, 17 pts

3. Quinn Simmons, 15 pts

4. Jasper Philipsen, 13 pts

5. Fabio Jakobsen, 11 pts

6. Christophe Laporte, 10 pts

7. Michael Morkov, 9 pts

8. Adrien Petit, 8 pts

9. Nils Politt, 7 pts

10. Jonas Rutsch, 6 pts

11. Vegard Stake Laengen, 5 pts

12. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, 4 pts

13. Andrea Pasqualon, 3 pts

14. Mikkel Bjerg, 2 pts

15. Brandon McNulty, 1 pt

Tour de France Stage 6

14:19 , Michael Jones

67km to go in the day. Two more category climbs and a potential sprint finish if the peloton can reel in the breakaway.

Their gap it only two minutes now.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:13 , Michael Jones

Wout Van Aert wins the sprint with a nod of thanks to Jakob Fuglsang and Quinn Simmons who don’t bother to challenge him. He adds 20 points to the green jersey classification.

A couple of minutes behind Fabio Jakobsen and Jasper Philipsen both compete to clean up the rest of the points on offer with Philipsen nicking fourth place right on the line.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:10 , Michael Jones

Wout van Aert and his two companions in the breakaway are taking on the fluids they got hold of in the feed zone.

There’s a bit of chat between them, whether that’s about the amount of time they need to lead by or if they’re coming to an agreement over the intermediate sprint.

Van Aert leads the way. The trio are two minutes 45 seconds in front.

Tour de France Stage 6

14:01 , Michael Jones

137km into Stage 6 and the average pace is still up at 50km/h.

10km to go for the leading trio until the intermediate sprint.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:56 , Michael Jones

The teams in the peloton won’t let Wout Van Aert, Quinn Simmons, and Jakob Fuglsang get that far ahead. There’s 85km left to go in Stage 6 and the chase is on.

The big teams are taking turns leading the chase with the gap between them and the breakaway already under three minutes.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:51 , Michael Jones

A very decent effort from the eight or nine stragglers who were dropped by the peloton during that speedy opening 85km. They were around five minutes behind at one stage but have just rejoined the main group after a tough recovery ride.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:46 , Michael Jones

Luxemburg’s Alex Kirsch (Trek-Segafredo) has called it a day. He was stuck all alone at the back and pulls out of the race.

Meanwhile, Van Aert, Simmons and Fuglsang have 3’45’’ lead with 100km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:37 , Michael Jones

Quinn Simmons spoke to reporters this morning who asked him what he hopes to achieve this year and what successes would constitute a good tour for the American. He replied:

“A good Tour… I mean just to be here already is a goal achieved, so now obviously you want to make it to Paris, but for me I hope to hunt for a stage.

“There’s a few objectives that I picked out at the start, but you never know. At the end of the day, if you go for the break, the peloton decides if you make it, so all we can do is fight to be there.

“I guess we’ll see in a few hours!”

Tour de France Stage 6

13:33 , Michael Jones

Wout van Aert has been the man of the first 100km, ably helped by young American Quinn Simmons who may fancy his chances for a stage win today.

Van Aert is also on a new bike now, having changed at 111km to go, just after the halfway stage.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:22 , Michael Jones

Tour de France Stage 6

13:18 , Michael Jones

A group of eight riders including George Bennett, Gianni Moscon and Mathieu Burgeaudeau fell away from the peloton a few kilometres back but is slowly gaining on the bunch after they slowed down.

Up ahead Alpecin now leads the peloton with Guillaume Van Keirsbulck setting the pace.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:12 , Michael Jones

The next part of the stage is the intermediate sprint at Carignan with 75km to go.

The leading trio are three minutes, 28 seconds in front with 123km of Stage 6 left. There’s a bit of a lull as the peloton calms down although there are a few moves happening as the teams position themselves near the front.

It took 80-85km for the breakaway to develop properly and the teams will be a little nervous of another attacking happening quite soon.

Tour de France Stage 6

13:08 , Michael Jones

Tour de France Stage 6

13:01 , Michael Jones

Quinn Simmons takes the point! He crosses the Cote des Mazures finish line first and gets his King of the Mountains campaign underway, drawing level with Wout van Aert in second place.

The peloton have started to take a breather. They’re letting the breakaway go, the leaders are two minutes 23 seconds ahead now.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:57 , Michael Jones

The Cote des Mazures is a category-three climb of 2km with a gradient of 7.6%.

Wout van Aert has managed to recover and catch up to Simmons and Fuglsang. This trio are now 90 seconds out in front and have around 700m of the climb to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:55 , Michael Jones

Wout Van Aert, Quinn Simmons, and Jakob Fuglsang have opened up a lead of over a minute now as the pace of this race starts to hit the rest of the peloton.

135km to go, three kms until Cote des Mazures.

Van Aert gets a mechanical failure just as the leaders hit the base of the climb!

Tour de France Stage 6

12:52 , Michael Jones

As the breakaway hits 30 seconds French champion Florian Sénéchal forms a counter-attack from the peloton and sets off after them.

There’s just 6km to go until the first category-four climb and the next part of Stage 6. Who’ll be out in front when they hit it?

Tour de France Stage 6

12:49 , Michael Jones

Wout Van Aert, Quinn Simmons, and Jakob Fuglsang have set off on a breakaway. This could be an interesting one if the yellow jersey holder fancies himself to open up a big lead.

They’re 22 seconds in front of the peloton.

There’s also a group featuring George Bennett that has been dropped by the peloton and are over three minutes behind. That’s a problem for them.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:38 , Michael Jones

The riders have already notched up 70km in an hour and 20 minutes. There’s only 150km left in the stage as the riders leave Belgium and cross into France.

How long this pace can keep going in anyone’s guess. It’s hard work for the cyclists and they haven’t even reached the climbs in this stage.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:33 , Michael Jones

The peloton reels in the 10 riders in the breakaway and Philippe Gilbert makes his way to the front of the pack.

Gilbert is the veteran of the Tour at 40 years and 2 days old. He won the 2016 Belgian championship for road racing, beating in a two-man sprint Tim Wellens who is his team-mate at Lotto-Soudal for this Tour de France.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:29 , Michael Jones

160km to go. A response from the peloton sees the time between them and the breakaway down to just 13 seconds. This leading pack want to get further in front but the pace of the race is mindboggling.

Stage 5 winner Simon Clarke has been dropped by the peloton. Several other riders can’t keep up with the high pace including Mathieu van der Poel.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:22 , Michael Jones

The leading riders have covered 52.5km in the first hour!

Absolutely insane pace. In comparison the other long stages of this year’s Tour have seen breakaway riders setting a pace of around 40-43km/h.

They’re almost 10km/h quicker today and the terrain hasn’t been the easiest with lots of undulations.

There are 10 riders in the leading pack: Vegard Stake Laengen, Christophe Laporte, Stan De Wulf, Kasper Asgreen, Simon Geschke, Andreas Leknessund, Georg Zimmermann, Magnus Cort, Conor Swift, and Mads Pedersen.

163km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:14 , Michael Jones

Here we go again.

Just like every other day of the Tour de France so far Magnus Cort Nielsen leads a breakaway attempt and there are some decent riders following him. Stan De Wulf, Mads Pedersen, Georg Zimmermann, Andreas Leknessund and Connor Swift are all involved.

They’re slowly increasing the gap on the peloton. It’s up to 15 seconds.

Tour de France Stage 6

12:09 , Michael Jones

Tour de France Stage 6

12:03 , Michael Jones

A leading group from the peloton featuring Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar catches the breakaway three and reels them back in.

Who’s at the front now?

It’s Wout van Aert of course with 179km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:58 , Michael Jones

Filippo Ganna speeds up at the head of the peloton and reels in the two breakaway pursuers Tim Wellens and Amund Grøndahl Jansen.

Under Ganna’s power the peloton cuts the gap to 45 seconds behind the leading trio after 34km.

Wout van Aert now takes over. He’s back out at the front of the peloton and increasing the pace.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:51 , Michael Jones

Wellens’ pursuit of the breakaway has slackened and he’s dropped back alongside Grøndahl Jansen. If they help each other out they will be better suited to join the breakaway but they’re currently 49 seconds behind.

Back in the peloton, Wout van Aert continues to launch attacks from the front, looking for the ideal moment to leave the bunch behind.

188km left.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:47 , Michael Jones

Amund Grøndahl Jansen of BikeExchange–Jayco has set off ahead of the peloton but is a long way behind the breakaway group. He’s going to have a tough time of things to catch them which seems to be his plan.

193km to go. The breakaway has a lead of over a minute now. Tim Wellens is just under 500m behind them and gaining, he could join the leaders fairly soon if he can keep up the pace.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:43 , Michael Jones

A few attacks have been led by Wout van Aert this morning but the trio of Benoit Cosnefroy, Taco van der Hoorn and Toms Skujins have managed to increases their gap.

Tim Wellens is chasing them down, he’s trying to catch the leaders who are 30 seconds ahead of the peloton.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:39 , Michael Jones

Just behind the leading trio is Kevin Vermaerke who’s attempting to bridge the gap which is now under 10 seconds.

Peter Sagan is riding on the wheel of Wout van Aert who continues to set a ferocious pace at the front of the peloton in pursuit of the breakaway three.

200km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:35 , Michael Jones

Benoit Cosnefroy, Taco van der Hoorn and Toms Skujins have opened up a 12 second gap on the rest of the peloton but there’s a response from Wout van Aert to catch them.

The yellow jersey leader seems determined to get himself into this breakaway.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:31 , Michael Jones

The leading riders are flying. They’re travelling at 61mph and a little split is opening up between them and the peloton. Wout van Aert was leading the charge at one point but he’s fallen back.

Tadej Pogacar is also hovering at the back of the attempted breakaway which is starting to slow down.

They didn’t manage to get away from the peloton. 205km to go.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:26 , Michael Jones

Wout van Aert has moved himself up to third place as the peloton reigns in the riders attempting to breakaway.

There are a lot of teams trying to get themselves out in front but the peloton isn’t going to let them.

9km down already, Mathieu van der Poel and Guillaume Martin are getting dropped from the bunch.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:22 , Michael Jones

Mathieu Burgaudeau of TotalEnergies has crashed at the 3km and hits the deck quite heavily. He’s okay though and is quickly back on the bike.

There’s another attempt to breakaway at the front as four riders squeeze ahead of the front of the peloton. They haven’t been able to open up a proper gap yet but the desire is there.

Burgaudeau is already 18 seconds behind the rest after a brief stop at the medical car for some bandages.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:19 , Michael Jones

After a 5km warm-up ride to the start proper, Stage 6 gets underway.

A blistering start was expected at the départ réel and it doesn’t disappoint. There’s a number of teams trying to get themselves into the breakaway.

Pierre Rolland is up there but Alexis Vuillermoz sets the early pace.

2km down and no-one has been able to shake the peloton.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:12 , Michael Jones

Wout van Aert is wearing the yellow jersey as the leader of the Tour de France. It’s his fourth consecutive day at the top after taking the jersey off Yves Lampaert on Stage 2.

Van Aert alos leads the points classification with 178 so second placed Fabio Jakobsen (126) wears the green jersey typically held by the sprinters.

In the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey is Magnus Cort Nielsen who has 11 of the 12 available classification points with Van Aert second having taken the final point of Stage 4.

Tadej Pogacar is in the white jersey as the best young rider with an advantage of 30’’ over Tom Pidcock.

Tour de France Stage 6

11:10 , Michael Jones

After the excitement and treachery of the cobbles yesterday, today’s long stage should be a more sedate affair.

Any breakaway riders could potentially be allowed to lead all the way until the finish as the GC contenders try to safely navigate the stage.

Tour de France Stage 6: Meaning of the coloured jerseys

11:07 , Michael Jones

The 2022 Tour de France sees 176 riders compete for the famous yellow jersey or maillot jaune which rewards the overall winner of the race.

While the yellow jersey, won in 2020 and 2021 by Slovenian prodigy Tadej Pogacar, is the most famous and prestigious of them all, there are three other colours to look out for in the peloton taking on this year’s Tour de France route.

The green, polka dot, and white jerseys all have their own meanings, histories and significance for their respective holders.

If you’re new to the Tour de France, here’s a look at the different coloured jerseys and what they represent:

The meaning behind each Tour de France coloured jersey

Tadej Pogacar: The invisible champion out to win historic third Tour de France

11:02 , Michael Jones

Here’s an interview with that man Pogacar before the Tour:

In Monaco, Tadej Pogacar blends into the city. He walks invisibly through the streets and potters freely around his local supermarket. Even in his favourite bike shop, the best cyclist in the world queues among the muggles without being disturbed. “I like to go inside and see what’s new, and of course I don’t mind if there’s customers in front of me, it’s normal,” he says.

By all measures a double Tour de France champion should be one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet, a bonafide global superstar unable to walk through a hotel lobby without dark glasses and an entourage, but somehow Pogacar has not yet transcended the sport. One suspects if he was from cycling’s European heartlands or the US with a name that rolled off the tongue, his profile might be a little different. His “TP” brand with an eagle motif and a “never give up” tagline is yet to take off quite like Roger Federer or Tiger Woods.

But understated and low-key is how Pogacar approaches life and cycling, just riding for the joy of it, an ethos which has brought rich rewards so far. After winning back-to-back Tours de France, an historic third next month would set him firmly on course to becoming one of cycling’s all-time greats, and what makes it all possible is just how little he is driven by his own sporting legacy. “For me that’s not something that I would enjoy after [my career] too much and brag about it. I work hard to win a lot of races, but for me the priority is just to be a good friend to my friends and have good relations with the people I want in my life.”

Tadej Pogacar: The invisible champion out to win historic third Tour de France

Tour de France Stage 6: Route map and profile of 220km route from Binche to Longwy today

10:57 , Michael Jones

Stage five of the 2022 Tour de France was the most brutal yet as the cobblestones of northern France took plenty of prisoners, dishing out dents in the yellow jersey ambitions of several contenders including Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic, but there is little respite on stage six as the peloton faces the longest route of the race.

Stage six begins in Binche before winding south-east along the border to Longwy. The general classification contenders are unlikely to want a dust up on a stage like this one, particularly with this Tour’s first summit finish to come on Friday where the gloves will be off. That means any breakaway made up of riders outside the GC mix could be allowed to run free and make a move stick all the way to the finish.

Stage 6 preview: Tour de France visits Belgium on longest route perfect for puncheurs

Tour de France Stage 6: Overall standings (top 10)

10:51 , Michael Jones

1. Wout van Aert, Belgium, Jumbo-Visma, 16:17:22.

2. Neilson Powless, United States, EF Education-EasyPost, +13 secs

3. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway, TotalEnergies, +14 secs

4. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates, +19 secs

6. Yves Lampaert, Belgium, QuickStep-AlphaVinyl, +25 secs

7. Mads Pedersen, Denmark, Trek-Segafredo, +36 secs

8. Adam Yates, Great Britian, Ineos Grenadiers, +48 secs

9. Thomas Pidcock, Great Britain, Ineos Grenadiers, +49 secs

10. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain, Ineos Grenadiers, +50 secs

Tour de France Stage 6: Stage-by-stage guide, route maps and profiles

10:45 , Michael Jones

The 2022 Tour de France begins in Copenhagen on Friday 1 July and finishes in Paris on Sunday 24 July, where Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar hopes to be wearing yellow and be crowned champion for the third year in a row.

Standing in his way is the sheer strength and depth of Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, who carry multiple threats including Pogacar’s national teammate Primoz Roglic and last year’s Tour runner-up, Jonas Vingegaard. Ineos Grenadiers are without their leading light Egan Bernal, the 2019 champion who is still recovering from injury, but they do have the in-form Geraint Thomas fresh from winning the Tour de Suisse, as well as potential stage winners Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock.

Here is a stage-by-stage look at this year’s route.

Tour de France 2022 stage-by-stage guide

Tadej Pogacar takes time from Jumbo-Visma rivals on cobbles of chaotic stage 5

10:39 , Michael Jones

The 2022 Tour de France exploded to life on the bone-shuddering cobbles of northern France, and when the dust clouds finally settled on a chaotic stage five, won by Australia’s Simon Clarke, reigning champion Tadej Pogacar was the day’s great beneficiary in the fight for the yellow jersey.

Pogacar’s key rivals, the all-powerful Team Jumbo-Visma, suffered disastrous luck which dented the ambitions of 2021 runner-up Jonas Vingegaard and all but destroyed the hopes of 2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic.

There must have been terse words in the Jumbo-Visma team car as first Vingegaard suffered a puncture which left him briefly, comically riding a bike far too big as he sought to recover, before Roglic was taken out by a rogue hay bale lying in the road – it was later confirmed he suffered a dislocated shoulder which had to be popped back in. The only solace for the Belgian team was that Wout van Aert retained the yellow jersey despite selflessly slowing to help Vingegaard rejoin the chasing pack.

Tadej Pogacar takes time from Jumbo-Visma rivals on cobbles of chaotic stage 5

Tour de France Stage 6: How to watch on TV and online

10:33 , Michael Jones

Tour de France coverage can be found this year on ITV4, Eurosport, Discovery+ and GCN+ (Global Cycling Network).

Live racing each day will be shown on ITV4 before highlights typically at 7pm each day. ITV’s website lists timings here.

Eurosport and GCN+ will show every minute of every stage. More on Eurosport’s coverage here and the GCN+ coverage here.

It is also being shown on Eurosport’s Discovery+ streaming service, with broadcast info here.

Tour de France Stage 6

10:25 , Michael Jones

The general classification contenders are unlikely to want a dust up on a stage like this one, particularly with this Tour’s first summit finish to come on Friday where the gloves will be off.

That means any breakaway made up of riders outside the GC mix could be allowed to run free and make a move all the way to the finish.

The stage features four climbs and three descents which lie before the finish like hurdles. First is the category four Cote de Montigny-sur-Chiers, before an uncategorised climb, and then the much more gruelling Cote de Pulventeux which, at an average 12 per cent gradient, has enough about it to thin the crowd should someone attack here.

Once over the top and down the other side, the stage winner faces a final slow drag up the Cote des Religieuses to the line.

Tour de France Stage 6

10:19 , Michael Jones

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the Tour de France. Yesterday saw a lot of excitement on the cobbles as crashes, punctures and sprints all contributed to a shake up in the leaderboard.

Australia’s Simon Clarke won the stage in a sprint finish and reigning champion Tadej Pogacar managed to close the gap on Yellow Jersey holder Wout van Aert.

Jumbo-Visma contender Jonas Vinegegaard had to be helped back into the chasing pack following a puncture and teammate Primoz Roglic’s hopes are all but over after he crashed into a haybale.

Today sees Stage 6 start in Binche, Belgium, before winding south-east along the border to Longwy, France. It is 220km and is longest stage of this year’s Tour de France.