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Alexey Lutsenko escapes to victory with Tour de France stage win as Adam Yates holds on to yellow

john macleary
·24 min read
Alexey Lutsenko - Alexey Lutsenko escapes to victory with Tour de France stage win as Adam Yates hold on to yellow - REUTERS
Alexey Lutsenko - Alexey Lutsenko escapes to victory with Tour de France stage win as Adam Yates hold on to yellow - REUTERS

Alexey Lutsenko took his first career Tour de France stage win with victory from the breakaway on stage six to Mont Aigoual.

An eight-man break that included Irishman Nicolas Roche began to splinter on the main climb of the day, the Col de la Lusette, late in the 191km stage from Le Teil.

EF Education First's Neilson Powless struck out in search of glory on his 24th birthday but Astana's Lutsenko followed and then left the others behind on the steepest sections of the climb before soloing to victory.

Britain's Adam Yates retained the yellow jersey as the peloton finished a little under three minutes later.

Yates, who became the ninth Brit to wear yellow on Wednesday after Julian Alaphilippe was hit with a time penalty, sat near the back of the peloton for much of the day but moved to the fore on the final climbs to mark his rivals.

Alaphilippe, stung by the mistake of taking an illegal late feed 24 hours earlier, tried a late dig to claim back a second or two, but Yates crossed the line in 10th to retain his three-second advantage over Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma.
PA

03:35 PM

Lutsenko: I held on for my most important win

Speaking afterwards, a delighted Alexey Lutsenko said Thursday's win was [part of Astana's plan: “It’s probably the most important victory of my life,” Lutsenko told Eurosport. “The Tour de France is the most important cycling event every year so it makes me really, really happy. It went just about as well as it could’ve done. I’ve been working really hard to get this stage victory. It was a stage we targeted and I’m delighted it all came to fruition because all of my efforts paid off and obviously that’s brilliant.

“We knew this was the stage we needed to target and I certainly lost enough time to be allowed to get free. I knew I was going to be able to get in the breakaway, I’d lost 45 minutes before we came into today’s stage that meant I knew I’d be allowed to go, but I was also able to really put a lot of effort into the final 11 kilometres which was the toughest. I set my own pace when I was going up the climb. I just managed to hold on.”

02:49 PM

Herrada the runner-up; Alaphilippe puts in late attack

Jesús Herrada held on to take second before Greg Van Avermaet rolled over the line in third place, the veteran Belgian in no mood to gift anything to birthday boy Neilson Powless who took fourth.

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) put in a very late attack around 75 metres from the line to take fifth spot and gain a solitary second on maillot jaune Adam Yates. Yates will wear his leader's yellow jersey for a second day on Friday. There will be no changes in any of the other classifications, while Nicholas Roche (Sunweb) added a further €2,000 to his prize pot by winning the day's combativity award.

02:42 PM

Lutsenko wins stage six at the Tour de France!

Alexey Lutsenko has won stage six at the Tour de France, the biggest win of the 27 year-old's career.

02:40 PM

2km to go

Alexey Lutsenko is going to win this stage, and he thoroughly deserves it.

02:39 PM

3km to go

Alexey Lutsenko has put more time into the peloton and another 30sec or so into Jesús Herrada who now is riding for second on the stage. Neilson Powless and Greg Van Avermaet are likely to take third and fourth.

02:35 PM

5.5km to go

All grimaces and grinding from Jesús Herrada, but I don't think the Spaniard will be ending Cofidis Solutions Crédits's eternal wait for a stage win at the Tour de France here today. Alexey Lutsenko is ploughing on, Alexandre Vinokourov is, as I type, probably getting the champagne on ice. 

02:30 PM

Pogacar has a mechanical

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) stops briefly having endured a mechanical issue. A team-mate drops back to help him out. Makes you wonder what Fabio Aru was doing earlier, surely there will be questions in the debriefing later today? No change at the front and Alexey Lutsenko is now surely just minutes away from winning his first ever stage at the Tour de France.

02:27 PM

10km to go

Can Alexey Lutsenko hold on and take the biggest win of his career? A short while until he hits the final short and shallow climb of the day up to Mont Aigoual where he can write his own chapter in cycling history.

02:24 PM

12km to go

Ineos Grenadiers are still pulling hard on the front of the peloton, but as it stands they have not taken a single second on stage leader Alexey Lutsenko. Jesús Herrada, who is a dogged rider, has not given up the chase but like the bunch he, too, has not made any gains on the Astana man.

02:22 PM

13.5km to go

Alexey Lutsenko goes over the summit of the col de la Lusette to add 10 points to his account in the mountains classification, but his focus here today is a first stage win at the Tour de France. 

02:19 PM

Higuita pops

Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) has been dropped by the peloton. Alexey Lutsenko is holding onto his lead and has 3min 9sec on the peloton.

02:18 PM

Aru the fading force

Despite making that earlier attack, the former Italian national champion and winner of the Vuelta a España in 2015, has gained just 25sec on the peloton.

Aru - GETTY IMAGES

02:16 PM

15.5km to go

Jesús Herrada is not done here. The Spaniard who took a fine win at last year's Vuelta a España has found a third win and is in pursuit of stage leader Alexey Lutsenko, trailing the Astana rider by just 20sec now.

02:13 PM

Lutsenko leads the way

Alexey Lutsenko has ridden Neilson Powless off his wheel and the strong, strong Astana rider is now the lone leader in this stage, the second uphill finish at this year's race. Further back, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) has had a mechanical leaving his leader Thibaut Pinot a mountain domestique down.

02:11 PM

17km to go

Ineos Grenadiers are still pulling on the front and Wout van Aert was just spotted off the back. The Belgian, despite what you may have read, may be human after all. Remarkable scenes.

02:09 PM

Powless pow-pow-powers away . . .

Neilson Powless attacks again. The young American clips off, dropping Nicholas Roche and Greg Van Avermaet but Alexey Lutsenko takes his wheel. The Kazakh national champion with his shirt all unzipped is holding on. 

02:07 PM

18km to go

Alexey Lutsenko and Greg Van Avermaet are both out of their saddles, powering up this climb. Neilson Powless and Nicholas Roche remain seated looking the most comfortable. The quartet have in fact increased their lead on the peloton, but should the group containing the general classification contenders decide to press on they may struggle to hold onto that here today.

02:04 PM

19km to go

Jesús Herrada has been dropped for a second time on this tough looking climb. The road is very narrow with a mixed road surface, lots of twists and turns. 

02:01 PM

20.5km to go

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) has launched an attack off the front of the peloton. Is the Italian going on a solo mission, or is he attempting to soften up the bunch on behalf of young team-mate Tadej Pogacar? Only time will tell so stay tuned.

02:00 PM

21km to go

Jesús Herrada claws his way back on as the road levels out. Greg Van Avermaet does a brief turn on the front, the five-man group's advantage is now 3min but on this undulating terrain anything could happen here.

01:57 PM

22.5km to go

Greg Van Avermaet bridged over after briefly losing contact with Neilson Powless. As the road ramped up to over 10% in gradient Jesús Herrada stated to struggle before he, too, was dropped.

01:55 PM

22km to go

Neilson Powless rises out of his saddle before launching an attack. The American takes with him some strong company in Jesús Herrada, Alexey Lutsenko and Nicholas Roche, but that injection of pace shelled Rémi Cavagna from the group.

01:53 PM

23km to go

Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT) and Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe) have been dropped by the break, leaving six riders — Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Jesús Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Crédits), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling), Nicholas Roche (Sunweb) and Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) — out in front, but their lead has dropped to below three minutes.

01:50 PM

25km to go

Let's go. The breakaway is onto the final long climb of the day. First up is an 11.7km  drag up towards col de la Lusette which will then level out, before the final kick up towards Mont Aigoual.

Here's a quick reminder of what this gnarly looking profile looks like . . .

Mont Aigoual

01:44 PM

28km to go

Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-McLaren) was just caught on camera getting a very sticky bottle.  Dylan van Baarle is riding on the front of the peloton for Ineos Grenadiers, setting a decent pace while a number of riders, including team-mate Andrey Amador, have been dropped.

Nicholas Roche was again the first over the summit to add a further two points to his tally in the mountains classification, while the breakaway's lead has dropped to 3min thanks to the fierce pace being set by Ineos Grenadiers.

01:40 PM

30km to go

Alexey Lutsenko takes over on the front of the breakaway, while further back Ineos Grenadiers are rolling back the years and riding on the front. Does Egan Bernal fancy his chances here today, or is this simply the British team flexing its muscle, sending out a message to key rivals Jumbo-Visma? If it's a case of the latter then I hope they know what they're doing because Jumbo-Visma have been looking unbreakable thus far since the return of racing last month.

01:35 PM

33km to go

Birthday boy Neilson Powless, who I tipped for future success back in 2016, is looking lively and setting a decent tempo on the front of the break. But Ineos Grenadiers and Mitchelton-Scott are riding hard in the chase, nibbling away into their lead.

01:32 PM

35km to go

Not looking great for Greg Van Avermaet as the break ships further valuable seconds in their approach to the next climb of the day, the category three col des Mourèzes.

01:28 PM

37km to go

All seems to be kicking off, just as my internet connection decided to start flickering. Anyway, Movistar's young Spanish hope Enric Mas crashed a few moments ago, but he's back on it now.

The gruppetto has formed and the breakaway has lost over a minute of its lead to the chasing bunch. Mitchelton-Scott are back on the front and look to be in no mood to give away their leader's yellow jersey that is currently resting on the shoulders of Adam Yates. 

01:21 PM

It's Roche, Roche takes two points

Nicholas Roche, the man that instigated this breakaway today, was the first rider over the summit of the Cap de Coste. Just as the Irishman added two points to his tally in the mountains classification competition, somebody appeared to flick a switch back in the bunch sparking it into life. Tony Martin shifted to the front for Jumbo-Visma and the race is about the start.

01:16 PM

45.5km to go

The breakaway is edging towards the summit of the first categorised climb of the day, the category three Cap de Coste. Greg Van Avermaet is looking focused, knowing that should he finish around 3min 3sec ahaed of Adam Yates then he can take the leader's yellow jersey.

01:05 PM

Bennett to wear green again on Friday

Assuming the Irish national champion completes today's stage and Peter Sagan does not somehow win on the uphill finish — the seven-time winner of the green jersey will not win on the uphill finish — then he will wear the maillot vert for a second day on Friday. Here are the virtual standings in the competition . . .

12:58 PM

Intermediate sprint details in full

12:56 PM

Quintana down!

Dayer Quintana, that is. Nairo's brother appeared to hit a flying bidon before he struck the deck. Thankfully, though, the Arkéa-Samsic rider is back up and in his saddle now.

12:55 PM

Bennett tightens grip on green

After Roger Kluge took ninth spot in the intermediate, Sam Bennett led the peloton over the line which will see the Irishman extend his lead in the points classification. Still have absolutely no idea why Roger Kluge clipped off the front as his team-mate Caleb Ewan did not really contest the sprint. Odd. Full details to follow shortly.

12:52 PM

Kluge attacks the bunch

Roger Kluge (Lotto-Soudal) has clipped off the front of the bunch, but not too sure what is going through the track specialist's mind. There's no way he can bridge over, but he may be looking to take the points and thus deny another sprinter on behalf of team-mate Caleb Ewan. 

12:51 PM

For Boasson Hagen points mean a nice €1,500 prize

Edvald Boasson Hagen has just opened his account in the points classification after beating Daniel Oss in a two-up sprint in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort. It was a surprisingly hard fought intermediate sprint which earned Boasson Hagen €1,500, Oss €1,000 and Greg Van Avermaet, who was third, €500. The peloton will follow.

12:43 PM

70km to go

Not too long until the intermediate sprint now and the breakaway is continuing to work well together, riding in a nice fluid formation each doing his share of the work. Their lead is down to 5min 30sec.

Adam Yates -  - REUTERS

Back in the bunch, Ineos Grenadiers are getting a close look at Adam Yates who will  join the British squad next year.

12:27 PM

Lunch on the go . . .

A number of riders have been snaffling their lunch. Here's Bahrain-McLaren's Marco Haller dishing out some snacks from his mussette.

lunch

The breakaway's lead has dropped to 5min 45sec with 80km to go. 

12:18 PM

90km to go

The breakaway is at 6min 20 sec and I am wondering if this man Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) will be going anything here today? The young Slovenian is a great climber and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a crack on that final climb. 

Tadej Pogacar started the day in the white jersey as leader in the young rider classification - GETTY IMAGES

12:12 PM

93km to go

Just over 30km from the intermediate sprint now, the breakaway leads by 6min 25sec and Mitchelton-Scott are still pulling on the front of the chasing pack. Ineos Grenadiers are tucked in, Jumbo-Visma are next in line in the fairly strung out peloton.

12:01 PM

100km to go

Breakaway is at 6min 36sec.

11:54 AM

110km to go

All fairly quiet right now, the breakaway's lead has edged out slightly to 6min 17sec. Meanwhile, here's a closer look at the final climb of the day which goes up towards the col de la Lusette before flattening out and kicking up to that uphill finish on Mont Aigoual.

finale

The first part of the climb is a bit of a brute where I think we can expect a bit of a battle between those fighting over the general classification. Those without the legs will start to feel the bite and be left to tackle the ascent on their lonesome or in the gruppetto. The finale is not too hard and so getting to the summit of the col de la Lusette within touching distance of your rivals will be key. There are bonus second on offer here, but if the break sticks all the way that will most likely be academic. I fully expect fireworks on this climb.

11:40 AM

117km to go

No great changes in the race just yet. Should start to liven up once the leading rider reach the intermediate sprint in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort in around 45 minutes.

11:25 AM

130km to go

The breakaway is working well together and has increased its lead on the Mitchelton-Scott-powered peloton to a shade over six minutes. Ineos Grenadiers, by the way, are riding just behind the Australian squad while the actual maillot jaune is doing a decent impression of Steve Cummings and is riding further down to bunch where he was just spotted chatting and laughing with Birmingham-born Irishman Dan Martin (Israel Start-up Nation).

11:22 AM

Mythical Mont Aigoual

Incidentally, I mentioned earlier that today's stage will conclude on the 'mythical' Mont Aigoual which may have left you scratching your head wondering who has won here, or what memorable Tour de France stage was battled over on these roads? Well, Mont Aigoual has featured just once before back in 1987 when Italian rider Silvano Contini (Del Tongo) was first over the summit en route to the stage's conclusion in Avignon. So why is the climb so mythical? Here's why . . .

the rider

Published first in 1978, The Rider by Dutch writer Tim Krabbé is arguably one of the greatest works of cycling fiction of all time. It is also an incredible account of one day in the mind and legs of a rider, or more specifically a racer, tackling the fictional Tour de Mont Aigoual. If you haven't read it, go buy it. It's just wonderful and is the subject of today's KMO from our friends at The Cycling Podcast.

However, today's stage does not actually follow the route of the Tour de Mont Aigoual, but instead goes up the other side of the climb which seems like a bit of an own-goal from the course designers.

11:00 AM

150km to go

Just one of the riders in the breakaway has worn the leader's yellow jersey before and as it stands Greg Van Avermaet is now the virtual leader thanks to the 5min lead on the bunch. The veteran Belgian who recently signed a new deal with Ag2r-La Mondiale started today's stage 3min 17sec behind Adaam Yates who could extend his lead later on today should he win on Mont Aigoual's uphill finale.

10:53 AM

Rap-ido!

As mentioned, today's stage has got off to a very fast start . . .

10:50 AM

160km to go

There is reportedly a cross tailwind which is helping the stage leader's whip along at a decent old lick. The eight-man group has increased its lead to over four minutes, while Mitchelton-Scott whose Adam Yates holds the leader's jersey, are controlling the pace.

10:42 AM

165km to go

The peloton has decided that this strong-looking breakaway can goo off the road. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT), Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Jesús Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Crédits), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe), Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling), Nicholas Roche (Sunweb) and Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) now lead by bunch by 3min 30sec. 

There are two former stage winners at the Tour de France in here — Boasson Hagen and Van Avermaet — while Cavagna, who recently won the French national time trial title, won a stage at last year's Vuelta a España from a break. Likewise, Herrada ​also took a stage at La Vuelta in 2019 while Lutsenko won at the Spanish grand tour in 2017 and Roche has two following his victories in 2013 and 2015.

10:31 AM

175km to go

Just over 15km of today's stage has been completed. A handful of riders attempted to clip off in pursuit of the breakaway, though they were soon reined back in. The peloton appears to have decided the break can go off and enjoy its day in the sun (and forecast howling winds). A number of the big teams have fanned out to fill the width of the road in an effort to deny any further escapees.

10:26 AM

180km to go

That eight-man breakaway's advantage has dropped to just 10sec, suggesting the peloton is unhappy with its composition. Jumbo-Visma are driving the pace with would back up my theory that the Dutch squad not only wants to win today's stage with Primoz Roglic, but also want to put their man into the leader's yellow jersey.

10:20 AM

185km to go

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT) and Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe) have now joined the break which has some very, very strong riders in it now, but they are not safe just yet.

10:17 AM

190km to go

Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) and Jesús Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Crédits) bridge over to Nicholas Roche before they are joined by Neilson Powless of EF Pro Cycling, resplendent in his yellow helmet as part of the leading squad in the team classification competition. Incidentally, Powless who won a stage at the Tour de l'Avenir in 2016 is celebrating his birthday today.

10:12 AM

Breaking away . . .

Straight from the flag, a posse of riders clip of the front, but their attack was sort-lived before Nicholas Roche (Sunweb) goes solo.

10:10 AM

And they're off!

Christain Prudhmme has dropped the flag, and stage six of the Tour de France is under way. Beautiful looking day in the south of France, but the wind is blowing and may cause a few issues for the peloton.

10:07 AM

Calm before the storm?

The riders are currently tapping away through the neutral zone en route to KMO where race director Christian Prudhomme will get the racing under way proper, but will there be a breakaway today ind if so, is it going to be a big one? Will the king of breaks Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) fancy his chances for the first time at this year's race after a quiet day on Wednesday for the popular Belgian?

09:52 AM

So, what's on the menu today?

At 191 kilometres, today will be a relatively long day in the saddle for the peloton. As you can see from the below profile, the opening 150km or so should not present too many difficulties for the bunch — or a breakaway — though once it reaches the fist categorised climb of the day, the category two Cap de Coste, the road will go up, up, up all the way to the summit of the mythical Mont Aigoual climb. 

Tour de France 2020, stage six race profile — Tour de France 2020 route: How to watch live TV coverage and follow the race stages

The intermediate sprint comes 65.5km from the finish. With today being another uphill finish, there are fewer points on offer at the line in the race for the green jersey and so I think we can expect a bit of a battle in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort should overnight leader Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) be within sniffing distance of each other. Should a breakaway go off, these two may even hitch along for the ride. Anyway, here's what is on offer today in the race for green . . .

And if polka dots are your thing, here's what is on offer in there . . .

I suspect today is going to be a race of two halves. The stage is due to get under way at 11.10am. I'll be back once I've made a pot of coffee to guide you through the day's action.

09:25 AM

As it stands . . .

Those familiar with the race, or stage racing in general, will realise that there are a number of jerseys on offer at the race, here's a very quick explainer for anybody that is new to the sport . . .

And here are the current leaders in the respective competitions . . .

09:10 AM

Morning

So here we are, the morning after the night before. The night in which Adam Yates (Mitcheton-Scott) will have got to take a stuffed lion back to his hotel room for the first time at the Tour de France. It may have been fortuitous, but when the history books are updated whenever this quite absorbing edition of the race concludes the authors will not care a jot. And neither, one suspects, will a number of British cycling fans who will have been delighted to see Yates join the list of Britons to wear the leader's yellow jersey at the Tour.

Before we have a brief look at today's stage and consider who may be holding their arms aloft in celebration later on this this afternoon, let's have a quick recap of what happened on Wednesday.

First up, here's our correspondent Tom Cary's verdict . . .

It was not how he would have imagined it happening, in his dreams. But Adam Yates on Wednesday became the ninth British rider to claim the most coveted jersey in cycling, the maillot jaune awarded to the leader of the Tour de France. 

The 28-year-old from Bury, who had been lying second in the general classification heading stage five, four seconds off the lead of the lead of Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Julian Alaphilippe, profited from an inexcusable mistake by the Belgian team, who gave Alaphilippe a bidon in the last 20km of the stage from Gap to Privas, which is against regulations. The penalty for an ‘illegal feed’ is 20 seconds.

Yates was almost apologetic. He was already showered, changed and waiting on the team bus to return to his hotel when the call came through that he needed to hotfoot it to the podium ceremony. “I don’t think any rider wants to take the yellow jersey like this,” he admitted in a hastily-convened press conference shortly afterwards. “You want to do it by winning or taking time. I don’t think anyone wants to take it like this. But it is what it is.”

Meanwhile, our colleagues at The Cycling Podcast published their latest episode late on Wednesday night. While we are waiting for the stage to get under way, I'd suggest you tune in . . .

The quietest day in modern Tour de France history had an unexpected twist in the tail and Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and François Thomazeau were on hand to discuss the stage.

It was expected to be a sprint but it was surprising that there was no breakaway all day. We ask why the stage turned out the way it did and hear from Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Michael Morkov and NTT Pro Cycling’s Ryan Gibbons.

The stage was won by Wout van Aert, last seen setting a searing pace on the climb to Orcières-Merlette in support of his team leader Primoz Roglic. But what impact will it have on Jumbo-Visma allowing Van Aert to ride for himself today?

The twist in the tail came after the finish when race leader Julian Alaphilippe was found to have taken a drinks bottle within the last 20 kilometres, which is not allowed under the rules. It means Adam Yates of Mitchelton-Scott takes the yellow jersey. We hear from his team-mate Sam Bewley and sports director Matt White.