Betancur at the double
Two stages from two for Carlos Betancur (AG2R) as the Colombian climber again proved the strongest, this time taking control of the Yellow Jersey in the process. Rui Costa made the final decisive move on the Mur de Fayence but Betancur managed to follow and had the speed to take the sprint. With Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) beating Geraint Thomas (Sky) to 3rd place behind, it gave Betancur an 8 second lead with two stages remaining. While the stage before was largely a victory of his own creation, this one was very much a team effort. AG2R team mates Romain Bardet and Alexis Vuillermoz covered the more dangerous moves on the Col de Bourigaille, then helped to bring back a dangerous group that escaped on the descent after a Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) attack, if that group had reached the Mur de Fayence with a gap then Betancur was out of contention. It was Alexis Vuillermoz who went on the attack on the Mur de Fayence once Simon Spilak (Katusha) had been caught, but an unfortunate crash caught out Vuillermoz while a mechanical took out his fellow attacker, Garmin-Sharp’s Tom-Jelte Slagter. From there Costa attacked, Betancur followed and took care of the rest, a strong performance from the Colombian and it will be difficult for anyone to take the Yellow Jersey from him now.
Looking ahead to stage seven
Stage seven: Mougins – Biot Sophia Antipolis
Image from http://www.letour.com/indexPNC_us.html
The most significant climbing stage of the race should ensure that the peloton is much reduced by the time they cross the final categorised climb of the race, the Cote de Gourdon. With that climb coming more than 60km from the end of the stage, some stragglers should be able to rejoin the peloton and a sizeable group should reach the finish together. The final 2km of the stage are uphill at around 5%, and while the gradients are gentler than the Mur de Fayence, the action should be similar but a little more suited to the non-specialist climbers. Given his form it’s hard to rule out Carlos Betancur again, but this finish should make Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEDGE), Zdenek Stybar, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) and Tony Gallopin (Lotto Belisol) more dangerous. The parcours really suits a breakaway, and if the right group of non-threatening riders gets clear then they have a chance to succeed.
The Week in Cycling 