History was written in yesterday’s stage 5 of Tour de France 2024 when Mark Cavendish took his 35th Tour de France stage victory, thereby surpassing Tour de France legend Eddy Merckx, who won 34 Tour stages. British rider Mark Cavendish was crying tears of joy after realizing he had taken the stage victory, and the Manx Missile is now aiming for additional success in this year’s Tour de France.

Stage 6 of Tour de France 2024 started in famous French wine territory. Race organizer A.S.O. had designed a 163.5-kilometer route in flat terrain from Macon to Dijon – known for its mustard production and for being the prefecture and largest city of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region.

The racing conditions in stage 6 were rainy and windy. The general classification leaders and their teams were attentive from the start, as wind and crashes in today’s stage might cause dangerous splits in the peloton.

Meanwhile, the sprinters in the peloton were gearing up for another mass sprinting day in the saddle. Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen crashed in yesterday’s sprint finish and was in the need of a good result in today’s stage to have a chance of winning the points competition in this year’s Tour. Hopefully the Tour de France peloton’s visit to the French vine appellation regions in today’s and tomorrow’s stages would do something special for this year’s wine vintage.

Axel Zingle (Cofidis) launched an early attack together with breakaway mate Jonas Abrahamsen of Team Uno-X Mobility. The duo had fought their way to a forty second advantage over the main peloton with 128 kilometers remaining.

The duo, however, failed to build a viable lead and was caught with approximately 138 kilometers left of the stage.

Most of the fast men in the peloton geared up the intermediate sprint, in which important points could be earned for the points competition. The intermediate sprint was won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunink) ahead of Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty), while Denmark’s Mads Pedersen tested his legs and took third, thereby showing he was ok after being involved in a crash in yesterday’s mass sprint stage finish.

UAE Team Emirates and riders from Ineos-Grenadiers moved to the front of the peloton to control the action and set a desired pace, while hoping to recharge their batteries and recover as much as possible before tomorrow’s important stage 7 individual time trial.

The wind was picking up with one hundred kilometers left of stage 6 and it was now important for the general classification favorites to remain in the front part of the peloton to avoid any time losses if the peloton were to split in the windy conditions.

It was a battle for front positions in the peloton. Teams were pondering additional attempts at splitting the peloton after an early attempt from Team Lotto-Dstny. 85 kilometers remained.

Mark Cavendish suffered a flat tire and lost time after having to stop to switch to a new bike. A loyal teammate was fighting hard to return the Manx Missile to the peloton.

The speed was fast at the front of the peloton and many riders had been dropped in the windy conditions. Race leader Tadej Pogacar and a teammate had been isolated while the rest of their team was fighting to bridge the gap to group one. Seventy kilometers remained of the stage. 

Group two caught group one. All alarms were off for now, but additional chances of splitting the peloton into echelons in windy conditions would definitely present themselves in later stages of this year’s Tour de France.

With 24 kilometers remaining of today’s stage 6 from Macon to Dijon, the sprinter teams were slowly starting to gather their focus at the front of the peloton in order to protect their sprint aces and maximize their chances in a mass sprint. The sprinter teams were also eager to avoid a late breakaway from spoiling their chances.

It was announced Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had been awarded the prize for the most combative rider in the stage. Perhaps the award was handed to Pedersen not just for fighting his way through today’s stage despite his injuries from his crash in yesterday’s mass sprint, but also as a token of appreciation for the Dane’s conscious decision not to complain about Mark Cavendish having dangerously changed lanes in yesterday’s sprint and Jasper Philipsen having engaged in risky sprinting behavior.

 Crashes occurred in the peloton with approximately seven kilometers of the stage remaining. The mood was hectic, and all teams wanted to be at the front. There wasn’t room for everyone and EF Education-EasyPost’s sprinter hit the tarmac hard.

Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) were active near the front in the final kilometers of the stage. Other sprinters were active too. Cavendish was aiming for an additional stage victory. All sprinters wanted to win a stage before tomorrow’s individual time trial.

Uno-X riders were setting a fast pace at the front of the peloton as the riders entered the final kilometer. Van der Poel attacked. Jasper Philipsen accelerated. But Dylan Groenewegen was there too.

Dylan Groenewegen was first across the finish line for his Jayco-Alula team. The Dutch rider won the sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty). 

Tadej Pogacar remains general classification leader of this year’s Tour de France and will also wear the yellow jersey in tomorrow’s stage 7 of Tour de France 2024. Pogacar leads the Tour de France ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma – Lease a Bike).

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from Tour de France 2024.

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