Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen clinched a thrilling victory in stage six of the Tour de France with a dramatic photo finish. The flat 163.5km route from Macon to Dijon, which was expected to end in a bunch sprint, saw Groenewegen make a late surge to beat Jasper Philipsen by a narrow margin.
British rider Mark Cavendish, who broke the record with his 35th stage win on Wednesday, finished out of contention in Thursday’s sprint. Groenewegen, 31, representing Team Jayco–AlUla, earned his sixth career stage win and his first since 2022. Philipsen, initially second, was relegated to 107th place for blocking Wout van Aert during the final 150m.
The general classification standings remained unchanged, with Tadej Pogacar maintaining his lead, 45 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard five seconds further back in third.
Astana Qazaqstan’s sporting director Mark Renshaw remarked that Cavendish’s best opportunity to clinch the record was in Thursday’s stage. Although Cavendish showed frustration due to mechanical issues, he managed to rejoin the peloton before falling out of contention in the final sprint.
Mathieu van der Poel led out team-mate Philipsen, but Groenewegen, wearing aerodynamic sunglasses, timed his lunge perfectly to secure the win. Philipsen was later penalized for impeding Van Aert.
The race continues on Friday with a 25.3km individual time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin.
Stage Six Results
- Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/Team Jayco-AlUla) 3hrs 31mins 55secs
- Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) Same time
- Fernando Gaviria (Col/Movistar)
- Phil Bauhaus (Ger/Bahrain Victorious)
- Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto Dstny)
- Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a Bike)
- Arnaud Demare (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels)
- Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Uno-X Mobility)
- Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel-Premier Tech)
- Piet Allegaert (Bel/Cofidis)
General Classification Standings
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 26hrs 47mins 19secs
- Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +45secs
- Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +50secs
- Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 10secs
- Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 14secs
- Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 16secs
- Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 32secs
- Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 32secs
- Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +3mins 20secs
- Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 21secs