A serious crash had a big impact on the Tour de France again today, as yellow jersey wearer Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) crashed in the last kilometre. He was later diagnosed with a broken collarbone and forced to pull out of the race.
188 riders had started stage 6 in Abbeville, with Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) a non-starter due to a fracture in his upper left arm. Perrig Quémeneur (Europcar) went clear early on in the stage for the third time in four days, and was then joined by Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) and Kenneth van Bilsen (Lotto-Soudal).
Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) went on the hunt for King of the Mountain points, having won the competition at the Critérium du Dauphiné last month. He led over each of the Cat. 4 climbs to take the polka dot jersey. Van Bilsen attacked with 12km to go. Quémeneur and Teklehaimanot were reined in just after the 10km to go mark. Van Bilsen was caught by the peloton with 3km to go.
Race leader Tony Martin crashed in the uphill finish on his left shoulder. He took many riders down, including GC favourites Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana but they were all classified with the same time as the accident happened in the last three kilometers. Cyclo-cross specialist Zdenek Stybar, also from Etixx-Quick Step, rode away solo in the last 500 metres and claimed his first stage victory at the Tour de France.
Summary – Stage 6 (Abbeville > Le Havre) – Tour… by tourdefrance_en
