Without Cavendish and Sagan, Kittel eases to stage win

TROYES, FRANCE — Marcel Kittel had little trouble winning the sixth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint finish Thursday with Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish both no longer in the cycling race.

Chris Froome held on to the leader’s yellow jersey after a sultry but uneventful day in the peloton.

It was Kittel’s second victory in this year’s race and 11th overall in his Tour career.

As the other contenders bunched together on the right side of the road, Kittel burst forward around them on the left and easily created a comfortable gap allowing him to celebrate as he crossed the line.

“I was really confident in my team,” Kittel said.

“I was also really confident in myself today. There was just a moment when I broke free and started to go ahead.”

Stage 4 winner Arnaud Demare finished second and Andre Greipel was third.

Sagan, the world champion, was disqualified for elbowing Cavendish to the ground two days ago. The fall resulted in Cavendish, who has 30 Tour wins, abandoning the race with a broken shoulder.

Kittel said the absence of Cavendish and Sagan has altered the racing in that their teams are no longer battling out the sprint finishes.

He was repeatedly asked after his win about their absence.

“It’s a bit sad that it’s all about this decision,” he said. “The level that we have here for the sprints is still very, very high.”

Kittel required slightly more than five hours to ride the mostly flat 216-kilometre leg from Vesoul to Troyes, and then bent down over his handlebars, close to tears, as he took in the victory.

The route in northeastern France passed through Colombeyles-Deux-Églises, the hometown of France’s wartime hero and former president, General Charles de Gaulle, and ended in champagne country.

A three-man breakaway rode out front for most of the stage. Perrig Quéméneur, Frederik Backaert and Vegard Stake Laengen were caught by the peloton with three kilometres to go.

Otherwise, the only incident of note came when a beach umbrella floated across the pack with about 90 kilometres left prompting Froome and his Sky teammates to veer out of the way.

“There was a bit of wind and the parasol took off and ended up in the road,” he said. “That’s the Tour.”

Froome remained 12 seconds ahead of Sky teammate Geraint Thomas and 14 seconds ahead of Fabio Aru of Italy.

Richie Porte in fifth place overall and other riders eyeing victory in Paris on July 23 were simply pleased to get the long, hot stage over without incident.