Stage 6 - Norwegian Would

On another day that resembled a classic, it was the classic men who were gain to the fore. And it was the cycling power of Norway that dominated. 24-year old phenom Edvald Boasson Hagen outpowered his rivals in the uphill finish to take his, and Team Sky’s, first ever Tour stage win, in this years longest stage, a 226km slog from Dinan to Lisieux. The win denied HTC back-to-back stage victories with Australian Matt Goss showing his classic qualities to finish second, while fellow Norwegian and GC leader Thor Husvhod finished 3rd to retain his Yellow Jersey.

The run into the finish was a lot tougher than many experts (i.e. me) had expected, and as a result the majority of the pure sprinters were eliminated from contention well before the flamme rouge. That just left the tough men of the spring to fight the race out, and Boasson Hagen was delivered the stage on a platter following the perfect lead-out from team-mate and White Jersey wearer Geraint Thomas. But the young Norwegian, slated by some as a future overall winner of the race, took full advantage, powering away to take his maiden stage victory with aplomb. Philippe Gilbert managed to hang on to the Green jersey by the slenderest of margins after finishing 7th on the stage. Despite finishing 5th on the day, and being the second of the main bunch through the intermediate sprint, Jose Joaquin Rojas still trails the World No.1 by a point in this classification.

The tough run into the finish caused a number of splits in the peleton but none of the main GC leaders were caught out. The only really notable GC event of the day was another bike change required by favourite Alberto Contador, but the Spaniard had no problems in reintegrating himself into the race.

With Stage 6 the first stage to contain more than two categorised climbs the Polka Dot Jersey again changed hands, and now sits on the shoulders of Belgian Johnny Hoogerland, yet again a participant in the day’s break. And while I may have missed the call yesterday, Stage 7 truly does look like a pure flat sprinters stage. And I’m sure Mark Cavendish will have been saving his legs in Stage 6 for a crack at his second stage victory tonight (although he did win the day’s intermediate sprint), in Chaterauox, the town where he took his first ever stage win back in 2008.

But all the honours on the day must go to Boasson Hagen. The Norwegian has been viewed as a prodigy by many on the tour for some time, and while he disappointed at his Tour debut last year, he has certainly lived up to expectations in 2011. It will be interesting to see his performance in the mountains this year, as today’s win may be the first Tour victory for a future Tour champion.

Yellow Jersey – Thor Husvhod
Green Jersey – Philippe Gilbert
Polka Dot Jersey – Johnny Hoogerland
White Jersey – Geraint Thomas