SPOILER - Stage Recap - Stage 6

Here's how letour.fr recapped today's stage 6.

Ricco Rises To The Occasion!

Once again the Tour de France has seen a sprint of the GC contenders. While the yellow jersey was picking himself up from the tarmac after crashing into the rear wheel of Kim Kirchen in the final sprint, Riccardo Ricco was lighting up the front of the stage with a blistering sprint ahead of Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans. The Italian reached the line first to claim his first stage win, the Spaniard finished second in the stage and the Australian shifted up to second overall. But Columbia can again celebrate a coup with their Luxembourg recruit become the fourth rider in 2008 to wear the yellow jersey.

The Progress Report
The sixth stage of the 2008 Tour de France, a 195.5km journey from Aigurande to Super Besse, began at 12.25pm. There were 176 riders in the race, with one of the crash victims of stage five, Aurelien Passeron (SDV) the overnight retiree. The itinerary included four categorized climbs two category-four ascents (the Cote de L’Armelle at 70km and the Cote de Crocq at 89km) and the first category-two rises in the 95th edition (the Col de la Croix-Morand at 158km and the climb to the finish). Although it was widely regarded as a mountain stage there were still three intermediate sprints in Chatelus-Malvaleix (23.5km), Cressat (44.5km) and La Bourboule (144km).

French Fugitives A Feature Again Today…
At the six kilometer Chavanel (COF) attacked and opened a gap on the peloton. This prompted a reaction from Vaugrenard (FDJ) and Bichot (AGR) who chased down the rider voted most aggressive in stage two and caught him at the 14km mark. Others attempted to bridge the gap – including Pate (TSL) and Augustyn (BAR) – but their efforts didn’t last long. At the 26km mark, a truce of sorts was declared as the yellow jersey opted to answer nature’s call and by the 28km mark, the bunch’s deficit was 2’10”. This grew to 4’00” by the end of the first hour when the leading trio contested the second sprint after racing at an average of 44.5km/h. At the 50km mark, the three were ahead by 5’00”.

Gerolsteiner led the peloton for the early part of the stage and kept the escapees within a reasonable distance. The average speed for the 2nd hour was 37.6km/h. Chavanel led over the two small climbs and, by the cote de Crocq the peloton was 4’15” behind. Silence-Lotto moved up and road on the coat-tails of the yellow jersey’s squad. At 95km, the peloton was 5’15” behind, this was the maximum gain before Gerolsteiner really picked up the pace. By the feedzone (111km), the bunch’s deficit was just 3’20”.

Col de la Croix-Morand
At the base of the first category-two climb of the 2008 Tour, the leading trio was 2’00” ahead of the peloton that was led by Gerolsteiner. The first attack came from Pauriol (C.A) but he was reeled in before the summit. There was a brief flurry with other riders – including Astarloza (EUS), De La Fuente (SDV). Vaugrenard was dropped and Chavanel did most of the work in the lead and crested the Croix-Morand climb in first. Voeckler (BTL) attacked the peloton in the final meters and claimed third place, 56” behind. The Caisse d’Epargne team which led the yellow jersey’s peloton all the way up the ascent. With 20km to go, Chavanel quit his effort and waited for the peloton. Bichot insisted and had an advantage of 25”.

Setting Up The Finale
Botcharov attacked the peloton with 18km to go. He tried to catch Bichot but the Agritubel rider refused to wait and the Russian was caught after four kilometers. The Frenchman finally surrendered with 13km to go. What happened in the lead-up to the final ascent mattered little for it was only when Piepoli (SDV) and Vande Velde (TSL) attacked that the real action began. These two got as far as 18” ahead of the peloton that was controlled by Caisse d’Epargne all the way to the final kilometer. It prompted the lead group to split until only about 20 riders remained before the steepest part of the climb. That’s when Valverde, Ricco and Evans found themselves at the front of the pack. As they began to sprint, Schumacher suffered a fall 300m from the line after crashing into Kirchen’s rear wheel. No one else fell. Ricco bolted into the lead with 300m to go and led Valverde and Evans over the line. Kirchen finished the stage in fifth place and inherited the yellow jersey from the German. Sandwiched in between the former race leader and the former green jersey leader at the top of the general classification is Cadel Evans.

They said it more concisely than I could have without giving you a series of updates all the way through the stage.

Suffice it to say, Kim Kirchen looks poised to ride away with this race unless Valverde heals quickly and gets some energy back in his legs.

SPOILER - Standings after Stage 6, TDF08

This should be getting to be old hat. I put "Standings after Stage XX" in the title and you realize that the post will have the list of all the remaining Tour de France riders with their current time deficit.

One thing you might not have been watching is how the list continues to dwindle. In a second I'll put up a post that has all the Abandons from this year's race.

Also, please be aware that I almost put Vansevenant on my fantasy cycling team. He's the guy in last place after today.

1. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 30' 41"
2. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 30' 47" + 00' 06"
3. SCHUMACHER Stefan 111 GEROLSTEINER 24h 30' 57" + 00' 16"
4. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 31' 25" + 00' 44"
5. MILLAR David 198 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 31' 28" + 00' 47"
6. LÖVKVIST Thomas 48 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 31' 35" + 00' 54"
7. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 24h 31' 44" + 01' 03"
8. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 31' 53" + 01' 12"
9. DEVOLDER Stijn 91 QUICK STEP 24h 32' 02" + 01' 21"
10. PEREIRO SIO Oscar 37 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 32' 02" + 01' 21"
11. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 32' 08" + 01' 27"
12. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 32' 15" + 01' 34"
13. MONFORT Maxime 189 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 32' 21" + 01' 40"
14. CUNEGO Damiano 71 LAMPRE 24h 32' 23" + 01' 42"
15. HINCAPIE George 47 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 32' 26" + 01' 45"
16. ASTARLOZA Mikel 22 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 32' 30" + 01' 49"
17. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 32' 37" + 01' 56"
18. SCHLECK Andy 16 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 32' 39" + 01' 58"
19. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 24h 32' 44" + 02' 03"
20. KNEES Christian 153 TEAM MILRAM 24h 32' 45" + 02' 04"
21. BRUSEGHIN Marzio 74 LAMPRE 24h 32' 47" + 02' 06"
22. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 33' 00" + 02' 19"
23. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 24h 33' 01" + 02' 20"
24. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 33' 17" + 02' 36"
25. BELTRAN Manuel 62 LIQUIGAS 24h 33' 34" + 02' 53"
26. CARRARA Matteo 93 QUICK STEP 24h 33' 36" + 02' 55"
27. VOIGT Jens 19 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 33' 42" + 03' 01"
28. NIBALI Vincenzo 67 LIQUIGAS 24h 33' 42" + 03' 01"
29. TROFIMOV Yury 147 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 33' 55" + 03' 14"
30. ZUBELDIA Haimar 21 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 34' 14" + 03' 33"
31. RICCO Riccardo 171 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 34' 33" + 03' 52"
32. PINEAU Jérôme 145 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 34' 46" + 04' 05"
33. POPOVYCH Yaroslav 7 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 34' 48" + 04' 07"
34. GUTIERREZ José Ivan 35 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 35' 11" + 04' 30"
35. COBO ACEBO Juan Jose 173 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 35' 14" + 04' 33"
36. VERDUGO Gorka 29 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 35' 24" + 04' 43"
37. TEN DAM Laurens 138 RABOBANK 24h 35' 31" + 04' 50"
38. AUGUSTYN John-Lee 52 BARLOWORLD 24h 35' 35" + 04' 54"
39. BOTCHAROV Alexandre 83 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 36' 13" + 05' 32"
40. DESSEL Cyril 101 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 36' 14" + 05' 33"
41. GERRANS Simon 86 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 36' 23" + 05' 42"
42. MOREAU Christophe 121 AGRITUBEL 24h 36' 25" + 05' 44"
43. FOFONOV Dmitriy 85 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 36' 50" + 06' 09"
44. DUENAS NEVADO Moises 56 BARLOWORLD 24h 36' 53" + 06' 12"
45. DUQUE Leonardo 186 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 37' 05" + 06' 24"
46. VOECKLER Thomas 149 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 37' 07" + 06' 26"
47. FOTHEN Markus 113 GEROLSTEINER 24h 37' 17" + 06' 36"
48. CHAVANEL Sylvain 181 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 37' 23" + 06' 42"
49. TANKINK Bram 137 RABOBANK 24h 37' 32" + 06' 51"
50. HESJEDAL Ryder 195 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 37' 36" + 06' 55"
51. GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo 125 AGRITUBEL 24h 37' 38" + 06' 57"
52. MONCOUTIE David 188 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 38' 22" + 07' 41"
53. ZABEL Erik 151 TEAM MILRAM 24h 38' 32" + 07' 51"
54. FLECHA Juan Antonio 132 RABOBANK 24h 38' 34" + 07' 53"
55. GUSTOV Volodymir 14 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 38' 40" + 07' 59"
56. ARRIETA Jose Luis 102 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 38' 43" + 08' 02"
57. VELO Marco 159 TEAM MILRAM 24h 38' 44" + 08' 03"
58. CASAR Sandy 161 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 38' 56" + 08' 15"
59. SIUTSOU Konstantsin 49 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 39' 08" + 08' 27"
60. MOERENHOUT Koos 135 RABOBANK 24h 39' 22" + 08' 41"
61. DEL NERO Jesus 175 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 39' 27" + 08' 46"
62. POZZATO Filippo 61 LIQUIGAS 24h 39' 33" + 08' 52"
63. GOUBERT Stephane 107 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 39' 34" + 08' 53"
64. OROZ Juan José 25 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 39' 39" + 08' 58"
65. CARDENAS Félix 53 BARLOWORLD 24h 40' 13" + 09' 32"
66. PEREZ Ruben 26 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 40' 26" + 09' 45"
67. LE MEVEL Christophe 87 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 40' 37" + 09' 56"
68. LELAY David 127 AGRITUBEL 24h 41' 03" + 10' 22"
69. BARREDO Carlos 92 QUICK STEP 24h 41' 06" + 10' 25"
70. AERTS Mario 2 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 41' 16" + 10' 35"
71. FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil 64 LIQUIGAS 24h 41' 23" + 10' 42"
72. DI GREGORIO Rémy 163 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 41' 23" + 10' 42"
73. SZMYD Sylvester 78 LAMPRE 24h 41' 43" + 11' 02"
74. BONNET William 82 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 41' 52" + 11' 11"
75. TSCHOPP Johann 148 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 42' 00" + 11' 19"
76. TXURRUKA Amets 28 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 42' 31" + 11' 50"
77. VAN DE WALLE Jurgen 99 QUICK STEP 24h 42' 51" + 12' 10"
78. MARTINEZ Egoi 24 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 42' 53" + 12' 12"
79. MOINARD Amaël 187 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 42' 55" + 12' 14"
80. CIONI Dario 4 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 42' 56" + 12' 15"
81. ROSSELER Sébastien 96 QUICK STEP 24h 43' 04" + 12' 23"
82. POSTHUMA Joost 136 RABOBANK 24h 43' 26" + 12' 45"
83. CANCELLARA Fabian 13 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 44' 12" + 13' 31"
84. CLEMENT Stef 142 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 44' 22" + 13' 41"
85. DUPONT Hubert 103 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 44' 30" + 13' 49"
86. PIEPOLI Leonardo 179 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 44' 31" + 13' 50"
87. FEDRIGO Pierrick 141 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 44' 36" + 13' 55"
88. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 39 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 44' 40" + 13' 59"
89. LE BOULANGER Yoann 167 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 44' 46" + 14' 05"
90. GADRET John 106 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 44' 51" + 14' 10"
91. ISASI Inaki 23 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 24h 44' 56" + 14' 15"
92. TIRALONGO Paolo 79 LAMPRE 24h 45' 09" + 14' 28"
93. LOWE Trent 196 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 45' 21" + 14' 40"
94. VAN SUMMEREN Johan 8 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 45' 35" + 14' 54"
95. LEFEVRE Laurent 144 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 45' 52" + 15' 11"
96. MARZANO Marco 75 LAMPRE 24h 45' 59" + 15' 18"
97. FROOME Christopher 57 BARLOWORLD 24h 46' 21" + 15' 40"
98. PAURIOL Rémi 88 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 46' 27" + 15' 46"
99. HANSEN Adam 46 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 46' 35" + 15' 54"
100. ARROYO David 32 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 46' 50" + 16' 09"
101. BALLAN Alessandro 72 LAMPRE 24h 47' 15" + 16' 34"
102. QUINZIATO Manuel 68 LIQUIGAS 24h 47' 54" + 17' 13"
103. FREIRE Oscar 133 RABOBANK 24h 48' 03" + 17' 22"
104. ELMIGER Martin 105 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 48' 05" + 17' 24"
105. TOSATTO Matteo 98 QUICK STEP 24h 48' 27" + 17' 46"
106. HOSTE Leif 5 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 48' 56" + 18' 15"
107. MÜLLER Martin 155 TEAM MILRAM 24h 49' 19" + 18' 38"
108. WEGMANN Fabian 119 GEROLSTEINER 24h 49' 37" + 18' 56"
109. LANG Sebastian 117 GEROLSTEINER 24h 49' 51" + 19' 10"
110. SCHOLZ Ronny 118 GEROLSTEINER 24h 50' 02" + 19' 21"
111. PATE Danny 199 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 50' 23" + 19' 42"
112. LOPEZ GARCIA David 36 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 50' 36" + 19' 55"
113. LEQUATRE Geoffroy 128 AGRITUBEL 24h 50' 41" + 20' 00"
114. VOGONDY Nicolas 129 AGRITUBEL 24h 50' 41" + 20' 00"
115. PORTAL Nicolas 38 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 50' 52" + 20' 11"
116. JUFRE POU Josep 177 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 50' 55" + 20' 14"
117. HUNTER Robert 58 BARLOWORLD 24h 50' 58" + 20' 17"
118. BRANDT Christophe 3 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 51' 04" + 20' 23"
119. FEILLU Romain 124 AGRITUBEL 24h 51' 18" + 20' 37"
120. LONGO BORGHINI Paolo 59 BARLOWORLD 24h 51' 26" + 20' 45"
121. VELITS Peter 158 TEAM MILRAM 24h 51' 28" + 20' 47"
122. BICHOT Freddy 122 AGRITUBEL 24h 51' 38" + 20' 57"
123. HUSHOVD Thor 81 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 51' 47" + 21' 06"
124. GILBERT Philippe 165 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 51' 55" + 21' 14"
125. VAUGRENARD Benoît 169 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 51' 59" + 21' 18"
126. FRISCHKORN William 194 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 52' 02" + 21' 21"
127. FÖRSTER Robert 112 GEROLSTEINER 24h 52' 19" + 21' 38"
128. STEEGMANS Gert 97 QUICK STEP 24h 52' 27" + 21' 46"
129. DEAN Julian 193 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 52' 30" + 21' 49"
130. DE JONGH Steven 94 QUICK STEP 24h 52' 47" + 22' 06"
131. TERPSTRA Niki 157 TEAM MILRAM 24h 52' 51" + 22' 10"
132. MAASKANT Martijn 197 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 52' 59" + 22' 18"
133. O’GRADY Stuart 15 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 53' 02" + 22' 21"
134. JALABERT Nicolas 126 AGRITUBEL 24h 53' 34" + 22' 53"
135. EISEL Bernhard 45 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 53' 40" + 22' 59"
136. CIOLEK Gerald 44 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 53' 43" + 23' 02"
137. MC EWEN Robbie 6 SILENCE - LOTTO 24h 53' 51" + 23' 10"
138. COOKE Baden 55 BARLOWORLD 24h 53' 53" + 23' 12"
139. JEGOU Lilian 166 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 53' 56" + 23' 15"
140. FLORENCIO Xavier 143 BOUYGUES TELECOM 24h 54' 01" + 23' 20"
141. CAVENDISH Mark 43 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 54' 09" + 23' 28"
142. RENSHAW Mark 89 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 54' 11" + 23' 30"
143. LANGEVELD Sebastian 134 RABOBANK 24h 54' 27" + 23' 46"
144. CHAVANEL Sébastien 162 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 54' 40" + 23' 59"
145. WILLEMS Frederik 69 LIQUIGAS 24h 54' 42" + 24' 01"
146. FACCI Mauro 95 QUICK STEP 24h 54' 45" + 24' 04"
147. CASPER Jimmy 123 AGRITUBEL 24h 55' 01" + 24' 20"
148. BRARD Florent 183 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 55' 07" + 24' 26"
149. DUMOULIN Samuel 185 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 24h 55' 15" + 24' 34"
150. RIGHI Daniele 77 LAMPRE 24h 55' 47" + 25' 06"
151. WEENING Pieter 139 RABOBANK 24h 55' 51" + 25' 10"
152. GRABSCH Ralf 152 TEAM MILRAM 24h 56' 02" + 25' 21"
153. BONO Matteo 73 LAMPRE 24h 56' 10" + 25' 29"
154. GERARD Arnaud 164 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 56' 28" + 25' 47"
155. CHEULA Gianpaolo 54 BARLOWORLD 24h 56' 37" + 25' 56"
156. LANCASTER Brett Daniel 154 TEAM MILRAM 24h 56' 44" + 26' 03"
157. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle 12 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 24h 56' 58" + 26' 17"
158. MORI Massimiliano 76 LAMPRE 24h 57' 03" + 26' 22"
159. BACKSTEDT Magnus 192 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 24h 57' 04" + 26' 23"
160. GARCIA ACOSTA Vicente 34 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 57' 07" + 26' 26"
161. ENGOULVENT Jimmy 84 CREDIT AGRICOLE 24h 57' 32" + 26' 51"
162. BERTOGLIATI Rubens 172 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 57' 38" + 26' 57"
163. KRAUSS Sven 116 GEROLSTEINER 24h 57' 55" + 27' 14"
164. RIBLON Christophe 108 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 24h 58' 29" + 27' 48"
165. BURGHARDT Marcus 42 TEAM COLUMBIA 24h 58' 33" + 27' 52"
166. COYOT Arnaud 33 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 24h 58' 33" + 27' 52"
167. CHICCHI Francesco 63 LIQUIGAS 24h 59' 11" + 28' 30"
168. ROY Jérémy 168 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 24h 59' 16" + 28' 35"
169. SCHRÖDER Björn 156 TEAM MILRAM 24h 59' 34" + 28' 53"
170. DE LA FUENTE David 174 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 24h 59' 36" + 28' 55"
171. HAUSSLER Heinrich 114 GEROLSTEINER 24h 59' 43" + 29' 02"
172. KUSCHYNSKI Aleksandr 66 LIQUIGAS 25h 01' 05" + 30' 24"
173. AUGE Stéphane 182 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 25h 01' 52" + 31' 11"
174. SORENSEN Nicki 18 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 25h 03' 17" + 32' 36"
175. SPRICK Matthieu 146 BOUYGUES TELECOM 25h 06' 06" + 35' 25"
176. VANSEVENANT Wim 9 SILENCE - LOTTO 25h 08' 16" + 37' 35"

SPOILER - Top 45 in Stage 6

My measuring stick for years has been George Hincapie. When he rode well, Lance Armstrong rode well. And pretty much, as George went so did Team US Postal and Team Discovery.

Well, with Kim Kirchen near the top (in second place before today's stage) and George sticking around, my new saying is as George goes so goes Team Columbia.

George finished the stage in 45th position...that's the reason I'm giving you the top 45. You're welcome. Got a better idea - leave it in the comments.

1. RICCO Riccardo 171 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 4h 57' 52"
2. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 4h 57' 53" + 00' 01"
3. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 57' 53" + 00' 01"
4. SCHLECK Frank 17 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 4h 57' 56" + 00' 04"
5. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 57' 56" + 00' 04"
6. KREUZIGER Roman 65 LIQUIGAS 4h 57' 59" + 00' 07"
7. DUENAS NEVADO Moises 56 BARLOWORLD 4h 57' 59" + 00' 07"
8. SASTRE Carlos 11 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 4h 57' 59" + 00' 07"
9. MENCHOV Denis 131 RABOBANK 4h 57' 59" + 00' 07"
10. PIEPOLI Leonardo 179 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 4h 57' 59" + 00' 07"
11. BELTRAN Manuel 62 LIQUIGAS 4h 58' 04" + 00' 12"
12. SANCHEZ Samuel 27 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 4h 58' 04" + 00' 12"
13. PEREIRO SIO Oscar 37 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 4h 58' 07" + 00' 15"
14. DEVOLDER Stijn 91 QUICK STEP 4h 58' 11" + 00' 19"
15. LÖVKVIST Thomas 48 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
16. TROFIMOV Yury 147 BOUYGUES TELECOM 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
17. FOFONOV Dmitriy 85 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
18. ASTARLOZA Mikel 22 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
19. VANDEVELDE Christian 191 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
20. VALJAVEC Tadej 109 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 4h 58' 15" + 00' 23"
21. ZUBELDIA Haimar 21 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 4h 58' 19" + 00' 27"
22. EFIMKIN Vladimir 104 AG2R-LA MONDIALE 4h 58' 19" + 00' 27"
23. GONZALO RAMIREZ Eduardo 125 AGRITUBEL 4h 58' 19" + 00' 27"
24. KNEES Christian 153 TEAM MILRAM 4h 58' 19" + 00' 27"
25. SCHUMACHER Stefan 111 GEROLSTEINER 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
26. KOHL Bernhard 115 GEROLSTEINER 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
27. COBO ACEBO Juan Jose 173 SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
28. MONFORT Maxime 189 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
29. CUNEGO Damiano 71 LAMPRE 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
30. GUSTOV Volodymir 14 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
31. AUGUSTYN John-Lee 52 BARLOWORLD 4h 58' 24" + 00' 32"
32. MOREAU Christophe 121 AGRITUBEL 4h 58' 33" + 00' 41"
33. CARRARA Matteo 93 QUICK STEP 4h 58' 33" + 00' 41"
34. BRUSEGHIN Marzio 74 LAMPRE 4h 58' 33" + 00' 41"
35. BOTCHAROV Alexandre 83 CREDIT AGRICOLE 4h 58' 33" + 00' 41"
36. SZMYD Sylvester 78 LAMPRE 4h 58' 33" + 00' 41"
37. SCHLECK Andy 16 TEAM CSC SAXO BANK 4h 58' 37" + 00' 45"
38. POPOVYCH Yaroslav 7 SILENCE - LOTTO 4h 58' 41" + 00' 49"
39. MILLAR David 198 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 4h 58' 43" + 00' 51"
40. TEN DAM Laurens 138 RABOBANK 4h 58' 43" + 00' 51"
41. CASAR Sandy 161 FRANCAISE DES JEUX 4h 58' 52" + 01' 00"
42. MONCOUTIE David 188 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 4h 58' 52" + 01' 00"
43. SIUTSOU Konstantsin 49 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 59' 00" + 01' 08"
44. VERDUGO Gorka 29 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 4h 59' 05" + 01' 13"
45. HINCAPIE George 47 TEAM COLUMBIA 4h 59' 12" + 01' 20"

SPOILER - Stage 6 Winner

Ricco Riccardo of Team Saunier Duval won today's Stage 6 by a second over second-place finisher Alejandro Valverde. What makes this interesting - if memory serves me - Team Sanier Duval has already lost two riders and here they are pulling out a stage win.

Good work Riccardo!

61 Posts so far

OK. We're six stages into the 2008 Tour de France and I've put up 61 posts (62 counting this one) regarding the race.

At this clip there will be nearly 210 posts for you to read by the time the Tour ends in Paris in about two and a half weeks. Get your eyes rested.

By the way, I didn't cover it completely in yesterday's posts, but Stefan Schumacher retained the Yellow Jersey and is still in first by 0:12 at the start of stage 6.

Many posts to come. Today's stage was significant, but not completely as promised.

Stage 6 Picks

For today's mountain stage, I will give you three names of possible winners. It hasn't worked yet for me, but why not keep trying.

I choose Kim Kirchen, then Christian Vandevelde, Denis Menchov and finally Cadel Evans.

How's that? OK, I gave you four. But I've been so far off thus far I thought I might need a little help.

We'll see how I do this time.

Today's Stage 6 - Into the mountains

Today's stage of the Tour de France is number six in 2008. It goes into some slight mountains. Stuff I couldn't ride, but most riders won't have an issue with these little peaks.

The thing some riders may have an issue with is the length of the stage. Right after the longest stage of the Tour in number 5, they're slapped with a nearly 200KM mountainous challenge.

The race goes from Aigurande to Super-Besse and is actually 195.5KM.

It's the third time the Tour de France finishes in Super-Besse. The first was in 1978 and the most recent was in 1996.

You can learn more about this little ski hamlet by going to its Website - REALLY.

Chat more later. Probably during the stage. But remember, you're safe reading my dispatches as there are no spoilers until 9PM each night.

It's the Jeff Cutler 2008 credo. :-)