Dylan Groenewegen wins stage six of Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar survives scare to retain yellow jersey
Netherlands' Dylan Groenewegen, far right, sprints to the finish line to win ahead of Belgium's Jasper Philipsen, far left and second place, Eritrea's Biniam Girmay, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey during the sixth stage of the Tour de France from Macon to Dijon
Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen won the sixth stage of the Tour de France, a 163.5km ride from Macon, as he prevailed in a tight bunch sprint finish on Thursday.
The Jayco AlUla rider, 31, let out a huge scream after beating Belgian Jasper Philipsen for his sixth individual stage win on the Tour.
But Philipsen later lost second place for moving out of his sprinting lane, meaning Eritrea's Biniam Girmay took that spot with Colombian Fernando Gaviria finishing third.
"The feeling is so amazing. The team worked so hard yesterday and I was a bit disappointed in myself," Groenewegen said.
"In the final kilometres, we stayed calm and I went in the right moment, I was fighting for my position. I love these sprints next to each other.
"The sprint field is really strong, I'm so proud of what we did today, and hopefully, we can do it again," added Groenewegen, who won his first Tour stage since 2022.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after a mid-stage scare with the Burgundy vineyards in the background.
The 2020 and 2021 champion was without a teammate when defending champion Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease a Bike team's brutal acceleration amid crosswinds split the bunch in two.
Pogacar was on the right side of the split but all his UAE Emirates teammates were trapped behind, before a collective effort allowed them to rejoin the front bunch 70km from the finish.
Mark Cavendish, who claimed a record 35th stage win on the Tour on Wednesday, was not in the mix for the final sprint.
The Briton was also reprimanded by the race stewards for using his team car's slipstream to ease his way back into the peloton after suffering a mechanical.
Friday's seventh stage is a 25.3km individual time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevery-Chambertin and all eyes will be on the top guns.
Pogacar leads Belgian Remco Evenepoel by 45 seconds and third-placed Vingegaard by 50.
Last year, Vingegaard humiliated Pogacar on a 22km time trial on his way to securing his second consecutive Tour title.
"Tomorrow is a crucial day for the GC (general classification) guys. I cannot wait to test my legs and see how it goes," said Pogacar.
