Groenewegen beats major competitor Philipsen in Tour de France

Dylan Groenewegen has added the sixth stage of the 2024 Tour de France to his list of victories. The Jayco-AlUla sprinter was the strongest man in the bunch sprint in Dijon, ahead of Jasper Philipsen. The peloton was nervous all day, and at times, significant time gaps seemed imminent due to crosswinds, but ultimately the wind was not strong enough. Tadej Pogacar remains the leader of the Tour.

Thursday's stage could have seriously gone either way. The deciding factor? The wind. Had it been mild, we might have seen the same scenario as Wednesday and Monday. However, there was a reasonable chance, based on forecasts, that we would indeed get crosswinds. In any case, it was clear that the peloton quickly went into focus mode. An early intermediate sprint also contributed to this.

Focus and nervousness, Lotto-Dstny first to try to break away

Jonas Abrahamsen quickly took off after the start, as the course almost immediately tracked uphill: he snatched up the point that was available at the first and last climb of the day. On his wheel was the Frenchman Axel Zingle. Both gentlemen continued, but not for long. The teams at the back sped up as we made our way towards the intermediate sprint. Jasper Philipsen won the intermediate sprint, ahead of green jersey wearer Biniam Girmay and the battered Mads Pedersen.

For the next forty kilometers, the peloton seemed concentrated, primarily focusing on maintaining position and being cautious due to the rainy road surface, but 90 kilometers from the finish, Lotto-Dstny made its move. An initial attempt at forming echelons failed, and after that we didn't see too much action for about ten kilometers. Until Christophe Laporte swung into action in a village before an open stretch. The line that formed here was a harbinger.

Laporte stretches peloton out, Pogacar's climbers and sprinters fall behind

In the open section, Visma | Lease a Bike pushed forward, with Wout van Aert and Tiesj Benoot playing prominent roles. There were casualties, and two pelotons formed. Who was not up there? A lot of big names, actually! Among others, Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida missed the cut, as did sprinters Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen and Mark Cavendish, who fell behind due to a flat tire. It was short-lived, however. The second group caught up after seven kilometers of chasing.

The tone had been set, and the race continued at breakneck speed. It was clear that Tadej Pogacar’s team was dropping the ball, while Visma | LaB and also Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had all their ducks in a row. After that, the situation remained the same for dozens of kilometers, and we couldn't do much else but wait and see if things would blow up again at the end, with even more open stretches full of crosswinds. The race sped northward, heading towards Dijon.

More nerves lead to acceleration and crash, but fortunately no fractures

At 44 kilometers from the finish, the major teams picked up the pace again, causing a crash at the back of the peloton. Everyone was able to continue. There were no serious casualties. Just before that, Jonas Vingegaard and Yves Lampaert had nearly collided, which goes to show just how nervous everyone was in the large group. Afterwards, the chances of forming echelons slowly but surely disappeared due to the diminishing wind. Now, the focus shifted towards the sprint, which the peloton collectively agreed upon.

In the last ten kilometers, we began to see a familiar scene: classification teams at the front to protect the major players, while the sprinters also moved up. At seven kilometers from the finish line, the nervousness claimed a few victims, including Marijn van den Berg and some helpers of EF Education-EasyPost. Uno-X Mobility seriously set the tone in the sprint preparation with the polka dot jersey as their powerhouse. Gradually, the sprint trains of Philipsen and Pedersen also moved to the front.

The last roundabout had been highlighted as particularly tricky, but no mishaps occurred there. Groenewegen's men got into a nice position, but Philipsen was perfectly placed in the slipstream of his teammates. The sprint that followed was thrillingly tense. Philipsen seemed to be sprinting towards victory, but Groenewegen simply had more power left at the very end, winning by half a wheel's difference.

Results stage 6 Tour de France 2024

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