Dimension Data sprinter Mark Cavendish once again proved his renewed power, coming from deep in the field to overtake Etixx-Quickstep’s Marcel Kittel, and Fortuneo-Vital Concept’s Dan McLay to win Stage Six of the 2016 Tour de France. The Manx Missile has now won three stages in the 2016 Tour, and 29 Tour stages in his career.
While the teams of André Greipel, Bryan Coquard, Alexander Kristoff, and Dylan Groenewegen fought hard to control the peloton through the final few kilometers, Kittel and Cavendish hung back, looking for openings while avoiding potential chaos—and there was plenty of chaos, with riders shouldering and shoving one another, fighting for position.
Etixx charged down the right side of the peloton 1500 meters from the finish, with Kittel tucking in behind Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan just past the one-kilometer banner, with Cavendish struggling to catch Kittel’s wheel.
Kittel was the first to attack, coming around Sagan and Kristoff. Cavendish followed Kittel through, pulled up on his left, and edged ahead an inch or two with each pedal stroke, crossing the line several inches ahead of the big German sprinter.
