Results: 2010 Tour de France Stage 6 – Montargis – Gueugnon

Hammering to the finish, Mark Cavendish (HTC/Columbia)…the Manx Missile…tears up the asphalt to claim his second, consecutive stage victory. Followed by Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) and Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) who appeared to not even have a chance to challenge the talented sprinter from Britain. If the critics were wondering if Cavendish could get the job done for Columbia/HTC in the 2010 Tour de France, they are now silenced as Cav seems to be on a roll that will continue into the rest of the race.

Today’s stage from Montargis to Gueugnon (227.5km) started off with stormy skies and ended in humid sun. With a typical early breakaway by Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne), Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was joined by Dimitri Champion (AG2R) and Anthony Charteau (Bbox) with around 20km to the finish as they attacked the last climb. The peloton eventually swallowed up the lead runners at about 10km to go with a windy finish ahead.

Stage 6 marks the last sprint finish before the Tour hits the mountains this weekend. During the stages on Saturday and Sunday in the Alps, we will get to see the GC contenders really start to ramp it up to put time on their competitors. Does Lance Armstrong have the legs to challenge Alberto Contador? We will find out tomorrow as the elevation starts to move skyward and the real climbers of this years Tour start to emerge.

Going into Stage 7, Fabian Cancellara stays in yellow as we hit the mountains.

Next Stage: Stage 7 – Tournus – Station des Rousses – 165.5km

Stage 6 Final Results

1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC – Columbia	5:37:42
2	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Transitions
3	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
5	Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
6	Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
8	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
9	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin – Transitions
10	Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team

General Classification After Stage 6

1	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank	28:37:30
2	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:20
3	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:39
4	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin – Transitions	0:00:46
5	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step	0:01:01
6	Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:09
7	Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team	0:01:16
8	Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana	0:01:31
9	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana	0:01:40
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:42