Tom Boonen of Belgium has won stage 6 of the Tour de France, after beating Spaniard Oscar Freire in a sprint by a bike length.
British rider Bradley Wiggins tried his luck on a solo-effort from the 2 km-mark, but after reaching a maximum gap of 17½ minute at km 57, the pack reeled him with less than ten kilometres to go.
Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland remains the overall race leader, stage winner Boonen conquered the green point jersey, and Sylvain Chavanel keeps the polka dotted mountain jersey.
Injured teammates Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Klöden both finished the stage near the back of the peloton.
Stage 6 Result:
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | s.t” |
| 3 | Erik Zabel | Team Milram | s.t” |
| 4 | Sébastien Chavanel | Française des Jeux | s.t” |
| 5 | Thor Hushovd | Crédit Agricole | s.t” |
| 6 | Daniele Bennati | Lampre-Fondital | s.t” |
| 7 | Robert Förster | Gerolsteiner | s.t” |
| 8 | Robert Hunter | Barloworld | s.t” |
| 9 | Romain Feillu | Agritubel | s.t” |
| 10 | Murilo Fischer | Liquigas | s.t” |
[edit] General Classification after Stage 6
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Andreas Klöden | Astana Team | 33″ |
| 3 | Filippo Pozzato | Liquigas | 35″ |
| 4 | David Millar | Saunier Duval-Prodir | 41″ |
| 5 | George Hincapie | Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team | 43″ |
| 6 | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | 43″ |
| 8 | Vladimir Karpets | Caisse d’Epargne | 46″ |
| 9 | Erik Zabel | Team Milram | 48″ |
| 10 | Mikel Astarloza | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 49″ |
