Alexej Lucenko in the colors of the Astana team crosses the finish line of the 6th stage of the Tour de France.
Stuart Franklin, Reuters
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The 27-year-old Astana rider Lucenko separated from the originally eight-member group of refugees, who set out to escape soon after the start, and reached the finish line at the top of Mont Aigoual at an altitude of 1560 meters above sea level with a fearless lead.
He chose the place to attack already during the tour of the route, he got on the steepest point of the ascent to the Col de la Lusette pass about 20 kilometers before the finish. “I put everything into it in the steepest passage. I was convinced in my head that I could do it,” said Lucenko, who rejoiced on the Tour from the stage laurel as the second Kazakh in history after Alexander Vinokurov.
Lone Alexei Lucenko in the final hundreds of meters of the 6th stage of the Tour de France.
Stephane mahe, Reuters
Behind Herrada, Greg van Avermaet had a successful battle for third place, and Belgian teammate Jan Hirt of the CCC team defeated American Neilson Powless. They were both two and a quarter minutes behind Lucenko.
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The winner didn’t seem to believe his stage triumph.
Sebastien Nogier, ČTK / AP
All the favorites in the overall standings held together today and reached the finish line in the main peloton with a loss of almost three minutes to Lucenka. Starting in the very end, he won second to his opponent Alaphilippe, who was classified in fifth place. In the overall standings, he remained in 16th place with a 15-second deficit.
Yates, who finished tenth, continues three seconds ahead of Primož Roglič, the third Tadej Pogačar loses seven seconds.
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Profile 6. etapy Tour de France.
Tour de France
Czech cyclists Hirt and Roman Kreuziger, who have no ambitions for placing in the overall standings, finished behind the main field. Hirt lost almost eleven minutes in 65th place, Kreuziger scored almost 27 minutes in 120th place.
On Friday, the peloton awaits a flat 168-kilometer-long stage from Millau to Lavaur. Cyclists will only have two peaks in the third and one fourth category waiting for it, so spurters in the mass range could get the word out again.
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Alexei Lucenko, winner of the 6th stage of the Tour de France.
Christophe Some, Reuters
| Tour de France: Race 6: Le Teil – Mont Aigoual (191 km): |
| 1. Lucenko (Kaz./Astana) 4:32:34 |
| 2. Herrada (Šp/Solutions Credits) -55 |
| 3. Van Avermaet (Belg./CCC) -2: 15 |
| 4. Powless (USA/EF Pro Cycling) -2:17 |
| 5. Alaphilippe (Fr./Deceuninck-Quick Step) -2:52 |
| 6. Mollema (Niz./Trek-Segafredo) |
| 7. Kwiatkowski (Pol./Ineos Grenadiers) |
| 8. Bernal (Kol./Ineos Grenadiers) |
| 9. Carapaz (Ekv./Ineos Grenadiers) |
| 10. A. Yates (Brit./Mitchelton-Scott) all -2: 53, |
| …65. Hirt (CZ / CCC) -10: 48, |
| 120. Kreuziger (CZE / NTT) -26: 47. |
| Running order: |
| 1. A. Yates 27:03:57 |
| 2. Roglič (Slovin./Jumbo-Visma) -3 |
| 3. Pogačar (Slovenian / SAE Team Emirates) -7 |
| 4. Martin (Fr./Cofidis) -9 |
| 5. Bernal |
| 6. Dumoulin (Niz./Jumbo-Visma) |
| 7. Chaves (Kol./Mitchelton-Scott) |
| 8. Quintana (Kol./Arkéa-Samsic) |
| 9. Bardet (Fr./AG2R La Mondiale) |
| 10. López (Kol./Astana) all -13, |
| …89. Hirt -49:46, |
| 125. Kreuziger -1:08:21. |
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