VIRE NORMANDIE, France: Irish rider Ben Healy won a hilly sixth stage of the Tour de France after a long solo breakaway on Thursday and Mathieu van der Poel took back the yellow jersey from defending champion Tadej Pogacar by one second.
The 24-year-old Healy had won a stage on the Giro d’Italia before, but this was his first victory at cycling’s showcase race.
“A stage win in the Tour is just unbelievable, it’s what I’ve worked for,” he said. “I grew up watching the Tour and wishing one day I could just be there. Participating in the Tour is already an achievement and to win a stage is just so so amazing.”
American rider Quinn Simmons finished 2 minutes, 44 seconds behind Healy in second place and Australian Michael Storer was 2:51 back in third spot.
Van der Poel finished eighth, and Pogacar was a little further back in ninth.
Stage 6 took riders over 201.5 kilometers (125 miles) from Bayeux to Vire Normandie, featuring six minor climbs before a sharp uphill finish with a 10 percent gradient.
The Slovenian star accelerated at the end of the stage but could not quite do enough to stop the yellow jersey going to the 30-year-old Dutchman Van der Poel, who is not considered a race contender.
“I would have loved to have a bit more than one second but I’m happy to have it again,” said Van der Poel, who struggled with the heat. “I’ll try my best to recover as good as possible and then we’ll see tomorrow, but first I’m going to enjoy the yellow jersey. I will probably only have it for one day.”
Two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard finished 10th, just behind Pogacar, and is fifth overall.
The route favored allrounders and an experienced-looking eight-rider breakaway, including Stage 2 winner Van der Poel and Giro d’Italia champion Simon Yates, pulled away from the yellow jersey group around three-time Tour winner Pogacar.
Riding through rolling countryside they opened up a four-minute lead with 40 kilometers to go, which is when Healy decided to go for the stage win and pulled away from his rivals, who could not follow.
“Today’s stage really suited me, I had circled this day from the start,” Healy said. “I knew I needed to get away from the group, I think I timed it well and I caught them by surprise a little bit. Then I knew what I had to do: just put my head down.”
Friday’s stage is also hilly
Stage 7 is 197 kilometers long, starting from the port city of Saint-Malo and finishing with a climb up Mûr-de-Bretagne in Britanny’s picturesque Côtes-d’Armor department.
“When you see how Tadej is riding,” Van der Poel said, “if he attacks tomorrow, or Jonas as well, it will be very difficult not only for me but for the whole bunch to follow on this climb.”
