Ireland’s Ben Healy produced a stunning solo break to win stage six of the Tour de France while Mathieu van der Poel regained the race leader’s yellow jersey.
Healy and Van der Poel spent most of the 201.5km hilly stage in an eight-man breakaway before the former attacked with 42km remaining.
The EF Education-EasyPost rider then pulled away to claim his first stage win on the Tour, crossing tche line in Vire Normandie almost three minutes before Quinn Simmons and Michael Storer.
Dutchman Van der Poel came in about four minutes after Healy, followed by Tadej Pogacar at the front of the peloton, and the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had done enough to take the yellow jersey back from reigning champion Pogacar by one second.
Healy was in the breakaway several times last year, when he finished 27th on his debut, and the 24-year-old said he targeted this hilly stage when the route was announced.
“Last year was a real eye-opener and it really made me believe that I could do it,” he said.
“It’s really incredible and [down to] hours and hours of hard work by so many people. To pay them back today is really amazing.”
