RICHIE Porte finished the 216-kilometre and uneventful stage six of the Tour de France unscathed.
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On a day that again favoured the sprinters, German Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) took advantage of Peter Sagan (expelled) and Mark Cavindish (injured) watching from the sidelines to claim his second stage of this year’s race.
Frenchman Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) followed Kittel across the Troyes finish line to round out the podium, while Chris Froome (Sky) retained the yellow jersey and a 39-second general classification buffer on Porte (fifth).
“We probably could have had the same result with half the distance so it's just nice to get it done,” Porte said.
“As we say, there is nothing to gain but so much to lose. It was quite a hectic finish but the guys were once again absolutely incredible. Tomorrow will be another long day.”
Stage seven (213.5km) from Troyes to Nuits-Saint-Georges is expected to be another transfer day for the general classification contenders leading into Sunday, where the tour fancies are tipped to make a move.
Stage nine features three out-of-category climbs and the descent into Chambery.
TOUR RESULTS
Stage six: 1 Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step) 5:05:34, 2 Arnaud Demare (FDJ), 3 André Greipel (Lotto), 4 Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), 5 Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis).
General classification: 1 Chris Froome (Sky) 23:44:33, 2 Geraint Thomas (Sky) +12, 3 Fabio Aru (Astana) +14, 4 Dan Martin (Quick-Step) +25, 5 Richie Porte (BMC) +39.
Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
