Le Tour 2014 – Stage 6

Arras – Reims

Distance: 194 kilometers.

Today’s stage has a couple of Category 4 climbs, but nothing too difficult for the sprinters. It crosses the Somme and the Marne rivers sites of some of the most deadly battles of World War I.

This stage wasn’t the Somme [58,000 British casualties on the first day] but one rider didn’t start and three more couldn’t finish this stage after accidents on the rain soaked roads.

Andre Greipel won the stage and Luis Mate took the Red Numbers, but the field was reordered when the peloton broke into smaller groups. In the last two stages Vincenzo Nibali’s hold on the Yellow Jersey became noticeably stronger as major contenders have lost a lot of time.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 24h 38′ 25″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 217 points
Cyril Lemoine ( Fra – COF – 174 ) [Polka Dot] 6 points
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) 3 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: André Greipel ( Ger – LTB – 135 )
Combative: Luis Angel Mate Mardones ( Esp – COF – 175 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 00′ 02″
3 Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) + 00′ 44″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 00′ 50″
5 Fabian Cancellara ( Sui – TFR – 163 ) + 01′ 17″
6 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 01′ 45″
7 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 01′ 45″
8 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 54″
9 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 02′ 05″
10 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 11″

The Rest of the Top 30:

11 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 02′ 11″
12 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 02′ 11″
13 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 02′ 11″
14 Geraint Thomas ( GB – SKY – 008 ) + 02′ 16″
15 Tom Dumoulin ( Ned – GIA – 106 ) + 02′ 25″
16 Yury Trofimov ( Rus – KAT – 029 ) + 02′ 25″
17 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 02′ 27″
18 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 02′ 37″
19 Jan Bakelants ( Bel – OPQ – 072 ) + 02′ 39″
20 Peter Velits ( Svk – BMC – 149 ) + 02′ 44″
21 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 127 ) + 03′ 24″
22 Michael Albasini ( Sui – OGE – 182 ) + 03′ 29″
23 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 03′ 29″
24 Tiago Machado ( Por – TNE – 206 ) + 03′ 59″
25 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre ( Esp – TFR – 169 ) + 03′ 59″
26 Marco Marcato ( Ita – CAN – 056 ) + 04′ 08″
27 Mathias Frank ( Sui – IAM – 191 ) + 04′ 13″
28 Christopher Horner ( US – LAM – 114 ) + 04′ 13″
29 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 067 ) + 04′ 13″
30 Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – SKY – 005 ) + 04′ 28″

Did not start:

Ariel Maximiliano Richeze ( Arg – LAM – 117 )

Did not finish:

Egor Silin ( Rus – KAT – 026 )
Xabier Zandio Echaide ( Esp – SKY – 009 )
Jesus Alberto Hernandez Blazquez ( Esp – TCS – 033 )

Note: Wikipedia has a simple article on the Mountain classification used on the Tour. The basic fact is that climbs fall into five types, with the four numbered types decreasing in difficulty as the numbers get larger, and then there is the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, which generally makes you look for an elevator or Sherpas.

Go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Le Tour” for all of the posts related to the race on this site.