The 6th stage of the Tour de France 2014 took place on July 10, 2014 and led from Arras over 194 km to Reims . During the course of the stage there was an intermediate sprint after 119 km and two mountain classifications in the fourth category after 107.5 km and 157 km. The stage thus counted as a flat stage. 192 riders started.
In light rain, the four drivers Tom Leezer (BEL), Luis Ángel Maté (COF), Jérôme Pineau (IAM) and Arnaud Gérard (BSE) pulled away from the field on the first kilometer , and after 14 kilometers they were already in the lead by four minutes lay. The main field then drove a little more aggressively and reduced the lead to around three minutes. The first mountain classification with a point to be awarded was secured by Maté. Around the 110th race kilometer there were falls, as a result of which Xabier Zandio (SKY) and Jegor Silin (KAT) had to retire. Meanwhile, Tom Leezer won the intermediate sprint ahead of Gérard, Pineau and Maté. The fastest in the field was Mark Renshaw (OPQ) followed by Peter Sagan (CAN) and André Greipel (LTB).
Subsequently, several drivers, including Sagan, Thomas Voeckler (EUC) and Jesús Hernández (TCS), were involved in falls. They fell back into a rear group of the now disintegrated main field. The front field around the overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (AST) was about 50 seconds behind the breakers, the group around Sagan was 35 seconds behind Nibali. The outliers passed the second mountain classification with a one-minute lead over Nibali, while Maté took the second mountain point of the stage again. In the main field, the pace has now been increased by the Tinkoff Saxo and Belkin team. 19 kilometers from the finish, the breakaway group disintegrated, Gérard and Leezer are overtaken, Maté and Pineau continued in pairs. First, the peloton caught up with Pineau, and Maté was also brought in twelve kilometers from the finish.
Shortly before the finish line, the Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team accelerated the pace and the peloton split up due to the wind . The winner of the last three flat stages, Marcel Kittel (GIA), was among those left behind . The assumption that Kittel fell behind due to a technical defect turned out to be wrong in retrospect. He could no longer intervene in the sprint decision. In the last bend, 1200 m from the finish, the Omega Pharma-Quick-Step sprint train slowed down so that Michał Kwiatkowski was able to pull away , but the other sprinter teams were finally able to close the gap. André Greipel won the finish sprint ahead of Alexander Kristoff (KAT) from Norway and Samuel Dumoulin (ALM) from France. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Pierre Rolland (EUC) lost time to Vincenzo Nibali of the drivers who were in the overall classification . They crossed the finish line about a minute behind.
Scoring
Intermediate sprint in Pinon after 119.0 km at 74 m
Maximiliano Richeze (LAM): not started for the stage
Yegor Viktorovich Silin (KAT): Task during the stage