Healy solos to win Tour stage six, Van der Poel retakes yellow by one second

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

VIRE NORMANDIE, France - Irelands Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) went out alone to win stage six of the Tour de France on Thursday, with Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wrestling back the leaders yellow jersey from reigning champion Tadej Pogacar.

Healy attacked from an eight-man breakaway, which included Van der Poel, with 42km remaining on the 201.5km ride from Bayeux to Vire Normandie, and pulled away to reach the finish line well ahead of American Quinn Simmons, with Australian Michael Storer third.

Van der Poel, who lost the overall lead to Pogacar after Wednesdays individual time trial, was unable to keep pace with the breakaway but moved back to the top of the general classification with a gap of one second over the Slovenian champion.

Healys move came after the group had been out ahead for more than 100 kilometres and while Simmons and Storer later decided to give chase, the Irishman increased his lead only as he climbed to the finish.

I spent a bit too much time trying to get into the break but I think thats just the way I do it, Healy said.

Once I was in there we really had to work for that gap and it was just on the pedals all day and I knew I needed to get away from the group and picked my moment and I think I timed it well.

Van der Poel, who first took the yellow jersey after winning stage two, began the day one minute 28 seconds behind Pogacar but at one stage looked like opening up an even bigger lead than that himself.

The breakaway group had managed