Paris-Nice stage 6 - Live coverage

The yellow jersey has been in Jumbo-Visma's possession since the start of Paris-Nice and on Thursday, the garment passed to the man expected to carry it all the way to Nice. Primož Roglič found himself more isolated than he would have liked in the finale of stage 5, but he held firm to finish with his direct rivals and inherit the jersey from Wout van Aert. Saturday's summit finish on the Col de Turini (weather permitting) and the grand finale in Nice are more obviously difficult days, but there is scarcely a metre of flat on today's 213km leg to Aubagne, and it won't be easy to control attackers.

The peloton sets off from Courthezon at 10.25 local time and is due to hit kilometre zero at 10.40 for the formal start of the stage.

General classification after stage 5

1          Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma    16:50:28

2          Simon Yates (GBr) BikeExchange-Jayco      0:00:39

3          Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies      0:00:41

4          Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers       0:00:56

5          Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe      0:00:59

6          Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:11

7          Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM     0:01:26

8          Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious  0:01:35

9          Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkea-Samsic  0:01:45

10        Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Cofidis     0:02:01

11        Hugo Houle (Can) Israel-Premier Tech         0:02:03

12        David de la Cruz (Spa) Astana Qazaqstan Team      

13        Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team     0:02:24

14        Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar Team      0:02:25

15        Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo          0:02:40

16        Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team     0:02:56

17        Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM         0:02:58

18        João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates      0:03:08

19        Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis         0:03:16

20        Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers     0:05:05

There are five classified climbs on today's stage, as well as uphill intermediate sprints at the Col du Pointu after 65km and at Lascours with a little under 9km to go. The categorised ascents are as follows:

Col de Murs (Cat. 2), 10.3km at 4.2%

Col de Sambuc (Cat. 2), 3.5km at 6%

Col des Portes (Cat. 3), 3.3km at 5.1%

Col de Pas de la Couelle (Cat. 3), 5.3km at 4.2%

Col de l’Espigoulier (Cat. 2), 10.8km at 4.4%

The peloton is currently navigating the neutralised zone in Courthézon. After 18 riders didn't start yesterday and five more pulled out during the stage, there are four more non-starters to report this morning. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana Qazaqstan) and Simon Geschke (Cofidis) have withdrawn due to illness, while Markus Hoelgaard (Trek-Segafredo) has left the race citing fatigue. 

-213km

Two more non-starters to report. Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Baptiste Planckaert (Intermarhé-Wanty Gobert) have also withdrawn from Paris-Nice. Meanwhile, the peloton has hit kilometre zero and stage 6 is formally underway. 

-209km

The peloton is riding into a headwind in the opening kilometres and so there are no early attacks to report, though the race will swing into brief section of crosswind ahead of the Col de Murs. 

-206km

Conditions in the opening kilometres aren't entirely congenial for a breakaway attempt, but that hasn't stopped a group of five from trying. They are quickly brought back by EF Education-EasyPost.

-201km

Johan Jacobs (Movistar) attacks alone from the peloton. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan) and Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM) set off in pursuit and join him.

This quintet has established a lead of 50 seconds over the peloton, but now there is a flurry of counter-attacking behind and the pace hasn't abated just yet.

-193km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan) and Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM)

Chaser at 0:15:

Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 1:00

The pace has definitively relented in the peloton, and it appears that the king of the mountains Madouas et al have been granted their bon de sortie for the early part of the stage. The bunch is now more than 3 minutes back. Grignard, meanwhile, is half a minute or so shy of the break and he may struggle to close that gap at this juncture.

-187km

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan) and Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM) are at the foot of the first climb of the day, the category 2 Col de Murs (10.3km at 4.2%). They have 30 seconds on the persistant Grignard and 4:30 on the peloton.

-182km

And then there were six Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal) has made it across to the break on the lower slopes of the Col de Murs. The escapees have 4:10 on the peloton.

Julien Bernard, whose father Jean-François won this race 30 years ago, sets the pace  in the peloton for Trek-Segafredo, who doubtless feel this is the kind of stage where Bauke Mollema could be a contender in the finale.

-179km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 4:10

Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), winner of stage 2, has abandoned Paris-Nice. The Dutchman has already confirmed that he won't race Milan-San Remo, with Brugge-De Panne, Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs his targets this spring. 

-177km

Valentin Madouas leads over the Col de Murs to add five points to his leading tally in the king of the mountains classification. He was followed over the top by Koretzky, Fedorov and Van den Berg. 

Primož Roglič is in yellow today while Wout van Aert is in green after he lost 24 minutes yesterday. With an eye to the Classics, Van Aert was probably always likely to sit up at some point yesterday, but it can't have been in Jumbo-Visma's plans for Roglič to be so isolated in the finale of stage 5. He was, of course, able to rely on the support of Rohan Dennis - "But Rohan, wow, he’s half-human, half-motor" - on the Col de la Mure, but in the final 20km, Roglič had to mark his rivals himself. "It was not the most comfortable," Roglič admitted afterwards. Read more here.

-172km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 4:45

One senses that this could be a stage of two halves. The Col de Murs and the climb to the intermediate sprint up the Col du Pointu are followed by a long, long false flat towards the Col de Sambuc and Col des Portes. In particular, we can probably expect attacks from in the final 50km, with the Col d'Espigoulier as an obvious springboard. For now, Madouas and the escapees are being granted a degree of latitude. 

-164km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 4:55

Cofidis have joined Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma in taking a controlling interest at the head of the peloton. Meanwhile, Jordi Warlop (B&B Hotels-KTM) has abandoned the race.

-153km

The headwind for much of today's stage so far means that the race is running behind the slowest advertised schedule for the time being, with an average speed shy of 35kph. 

-149km

The six escapees are climbing the Col du Pointu, which is the site of an intermediate sprint rather than a king of the mountains prime. The peloton trails by 4:30.

Julius van den Berg leads the break through the intermediate sprint atop the Pointu. Behind, there is an increase in urgency in the peloton, and the break's lead falls lower than four minutes.

-145km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 3:45

-138km

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert have joined Cofidis, Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma in policing the peloton, which trails the break by 3:30. The headwind seems to have teams warming to the idea that the day's stage might yet wind up in a reduced bunch sprint, so riders like Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) would fancy their chances of surviving the climbs and contesting the finish.

Ruben Fernandez (Cofidis) spent much of yesterday in the break as the virtual race leader, but he has now become the latest rider to abandon this most attritional edition of Paris-Nice.

-127km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 3:20

The break is on this interminable section of false flat north of Aix-en-Provence as they grind towards the Col de Sambuc, still almost 30km away. The peloton has made some more inroads into their advantage, which drops closer to 3 minutes.

Brandon McNulty scored his third solo victory of 2022 with his lone effort over the Col de la Mure yesterday. The Arizonan had come to this race with designs on overall victory, but a crash on stage 2 and his related travails the following day saw him drop out of the GC contest. He had considered abandoning Paris-Nice, but he entered the break yesterday and wound up winning the stage to continue his remarkable start to 2022. "I was debating even continuing on or just resetting, so from considering not even starting today, it's incredible," said McNulty. Read more here.

Aime De Gendt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) abandons Paris-Nice. Between non-starters and abandons, a further ten riders have left the race today, leaving just 111 riders in the Race to the Sun from a starting peloton of 154.

Primož Roglič didn't anticipate much action among the GC contenders today despite the rolling terrain. "It’s a long one and also the wind is not really in our favour, so it will be quite a long day. We will see how it goes, if it will be for the breakaway or some kind of sprint," he said at the start, adding that today's final climb, the Espigoulier, is significantly easier than the Col de la Mure yesterday. "We just have to see what kind of control will go on, they will probably try to catch the break back for the sprint. if not, there could be some action, but the climb looks a lot less hard than yesterday."

Roglič made light of his isolation in the finale yesterday, even if it appears that both Steven Kruijswijk and Rohan Dennis - his most reliable teammate yesterday - have been carrying injuries. "Everybody has their own problems, but we are still here with all the guys," Roglič said. "There are some small details we can change but it’s also true that yesterday and Sunday will be the longest and most tricky finals. It’s hard, you have to be good to be up there."

-114km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 3:06

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was unsure if a break would go the distance at the start, but he will be pleased with the lie of the land at this point. Fast men who can get over a climb are still in with a real chance of stage honours this afternoon. "It clearly depends on how the race plays out and how the bunch decides to ride. There are a lot of teams with riders missing, so that will complicate things when it comes to controlling the break," Coquard said. "We’ll have to see how it goes, if there’s a big break or not. If it’s ten or twelve riders, then the break will go the distance. If it’s four or five, then there’s a chance of working to bring them back to try to have a regrouping before the finish."

-99km

Into the final 100km for the leaders, who have a buffer of 3:25 over the peloton as they approach the day's second classified climb, the category 2 Col de Sambuc (3.5km at 6%). The average speed after three hours of racing is 37.3kph.

With the break's lead stable at just north of 3 minutes and a coalition of teams sharing the workload behind, and with Roglič reckoning the final ascent isn't steep enough for GC attacks, the remaining fast men could yet enjoy a sprint in Aubagne this afternoon. Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay and Bryan Coquard are the names that spring to mind, and theirs are the teams that have been setting the tempo in the peloton.

-95km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 3:25

-91km

Madouas leads the break over the Col de Sambuc to cement his lead in the king of the mountains competition. The escapees have 2:50 in hand over a Nathan Van Hooydonck-led peloton at the top of the climb. 

-85km

Bryan Coquard drops back to the medical car for attention ahead of the category 1 Col des Portes (3.3km at 5.1%), the next climb on the agenda. 

Grignard briefly lost contact with the break on the Col des Portes but he has battled his way back up to them. The escapees are 2:30 clear of the bunch on the third climb of the day.

-80km

Madouas continues to amass maximum points in the king of the mountains competition as he leads the break over the Col des Portes. The break is 2:23 clear of the peloton. 

-77km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 2:08

Trek-Segafredo, Jumbo-Visma, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert and Cofidis continue to lead the peloton. A delegation from Ineos has moved up to keep Daniel Martinez and Adam Yates well placed ahead of the finale.

-70km

The break's lead drops inside two minutes as Max Walchseid (Cofidis) continue to pile on the pressure on behalf of Coquard.

-68km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 1:48

The peloton stretches to breaking point and a number of riders are briefly caught on the wrong side of a split, including Ethan Hayter (Ineos), but they soon make it back on.

-62km

The six leaders maintain a lead of two minutes over the bunch on the approach to the category 3 Col de Pas de la Couelle (5.3km at 4.2%). While the sprinters' teams lead the way, the GC contenders' squads are moving them into position behind.

-59km

Sebastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal), already struggling on the previous climb, loses contact with the break as they start the Col de Pas de la Couelle with a lead of 1:45 over the pelottton.

-57km

The pace is relatively steady in the peloton on the climb, and Primoz Roglic availed of the relative détente to pause for a natural break. Wout van Aert is among the riders who pace him back up.

Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) is the latest rider to abandon Paris-Nice. Some eleven riders have now withdrawn from the race today.

-56km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM)

Peloton at 1:50

-53km

No surprise atop the Col de Pas de la Couelle, as Valentin Madouas leads over the top uncontested to add three more points to his lead in the king of the mountains competition. 

Grignard, dropped from the break, has now been jettisoned out the back of the bunch, but the road levels off soon and he should make it back on over the other side. 

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) is struggling at the rear of the peloton but he stays in touch over the climb. The Irishman admitted earlier in the week that he is short of racing miles and still well shy of his best form this week.

The peloton crests the summit of the Col de Pas de la Couelle with a deficit of 1:24 to recoup on the break. For now, the day looks amenable to a bunch finish of some description, but it will all depend on how the GC contenders and would-be attackers like Guillaume Martin approach the final classified climb of the Col de l’Espigoulier. It's not especially steep, but it drags upwards for almost 11km. If the pace is high, some fast men will lose contact.

-49km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM)

Peloton at 1:29

-45km`

The defining moment of the stage is approaching. The peloton closes to within 1:17 of the break ahead of the Col de l’Espigoulier (10.8km at 4.4%), and the pace on this climb will decide what kind of finale we have in Aubagne this afternoon.

-42km

The break's lead drops to 1:03 as Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert lead the way in the peloton.

A delegation from Ineos move ahead with intent on the approach to the base of the climb. Out in front, Julius van den Berg takes a flyer off the front of the break, but his companions come with him. The unity of the break, however, has formally been broken.

-40km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Yevgeniy Federov (Astana-Qazaqstan), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM)

Peloton at 0:55

-39km

The escapees hit the base of the Col de l’Espigoulier with a lead of 45 seconds on the bunch. Jacobs is the first to attack, and both Federov and the king of the mountains Madouas are immediately dropped.

Van den Berg is dropped too. Koretzky tries to track Jacobs' move, but he's struggling to get on terms.

Back in the peloton, Matthews Holmes (Lotto Soudal) attacks with intent and opens a gap. He sets off in pursuit of the escapees and starts picking off the riders dropped by Jacobs.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) is among the riders dropped from the peloton, together with Andrey Amador (Ineos) and Michael Morkov (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl). This climb's steepest section comes at the bottom, so they might be able to stay in sight of the bunch at least.

-36.5km

Johan Jacobs (Movistar) and Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM) are at the head of the race with a 22-second lead over the chaser Matthews Holmes (Lotto Soudal), while the bunch trails at 43 seconds. 

Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) sets the pace in the peloton, with a delegation from Jumbo-Visma perched behind him.

-35.5km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM)

Chasers at 0:15:

Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Matthews Holmes (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 0:37

There are still seven kilometres this climb to go, and so Jacobs and Koretzky will struggle to fend off the bunch. The question, however, is whether there will be an attacks or forcing in the peloton. For now, Julien Bernard is set to keep the break's lead steady, though his tempo has burnt off Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), who is distanced by the peloton.

This is a fine stint of work from Julien Bernard, who was already active earlier in the stage. He brings back Van den Berg, who has been distanced by Holmes. The Briton is stalking Jacobs and Koretzky at the head of the race, and he looks like bridging across. 

-34km

With 6km of the climb to go, Holmes joins Jacobs and Koretzky at the head of the race. This trio is 22 seconds up on the peloton. 

Holmes come to the front immediately and tries to raise the tempo. Jacobs and Koretzky hang on, but the bunch is drawing nearer and there is still half of the Col de l’Espigoulier to go.

-33km

Break:

Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Victor Koretzky (B&B Hotels-KTM), Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal)

Peloton at 0:26

The peloton has been pared down on this climb, but not quite reduced to its bare bones. Cees Bol (DSM) has managed to hang on at the back thus far, even if he is struggling to hold the wheels.

-32km

Holmes' efforts have breathed life into the break. Their lead has nudged back out to 32 seconds with just under 4km of the climb to go.

Jumbo-Visma are obviously content to let Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo) continue to set the tempo, but it's beginning to look as though the Frenchman could do with some help from some quarter. Still, he sticks diligently to his task for now. 

It doesn't appear as though there will be any frissons among the GC contenders on this climb, but if the three escapees are brought back before the uphill intermediate sprint in Lascours, then that status quo will undoubtedly change. 

-30km

The gradients eases somewhat in the final 2km of the climb. Bernard has led the bunch this far and he continues to do so on the upper reaches. 25 seconds the gap to the three leaders.

-29km

Not many sprinters have been burnt off on the climb, Ethan Hayter and Cees Bol remain in contact, as do Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay, Wout van Aert and Bryan Coquard.

There's a block headwind over the top of the ascent, which further explains the lack of movement in the peloton here. Jumbo-Visma take over from Bernard approaching the summit just to ensure their positioning for the descent.

-28.5km

Matthew Holmes takes maximum points atop the Espigoulier, to revive his king of the mountains hopes, but the peloton is just 8 seconds behind as they crest the summit.

-27km

The three escapees are caught by the peloton on the descent of the Col de l’Espigoulier. Those bonus seconds in Lascours are now in play for the GC men and it's an uphill sprint...

-24km

The intermediate sprint in Lascours comes with 8.6km to go after a very short ascent. The headwind in the finale perhaps means that it's unlikely to provide a springboard for stage-winning attacks, but there should be a contest for the bonus seconds.

Soren Kragh Andersen (DSM) forces the pace on this sinuous descent, but he has only opened a small gap for the time being. His forcing might, however, serve to form splits further back in the bunch. And the Dane is, it must be remembered, 7th overall at 1:26.

-21km

Soren Kragh Andersen channels Frédéric Vichot with a masterful descent. The Dane has opened a sizeable gap over the peloton through the most recent series of bends. There are gaps opening in the bunch behind him to boot.

-19km

Andersen pushes on as he approaches the base of the descent. His lead looks to be stretching outwards, but he is going to be facing into a stretch of flat road and a headwind, and it will not be easy to stay away.

-17km

Break:

Søren Kragh Andersen (DSM) 

Peloton at 0:10

-16km

Trek-Segafredo lead the peloton in pursuit of Andersen, and they will claw the Dane back shortly. It's unclear if any GC riders were caught out by that descent, but it looks as though the peloton is growing again as riders scramble back on.

-15km

Andersen is brought back by the Trek-led peloton. Alex Kirsch sets the pace for Mads Pedersen. 

Cees Bol (DSM) is among the fast men distanced on the descent, and his chances of fighting for stage victory are effectively over. 

-14km

Trek-Segafredo lead the peloton, but delegations from Jumbo and Ineos move into position behind them ahead of the intermediate sprint.

-12km

Adam Yates and Pierre Latour are among the riders posted behind the Trek-Segafredo pace-setters ahead of the bonus sprint. 

-10km

The scene looks set for a bunch finish, but it remains to be seen if the uphill intermediate sprint and its aftermath can derail that probability. Trek-Segafredo lead the bunch into the final ten kilometres. 

-9.5km

Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) and Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) attack as the climb to the sprint begins, and this effort could take the seconds away from the GC men. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) sets off in pursuit...

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) comes across and goes over the top of these attackers. One assumed he was trying to tee up Pierre Latour, but instead the Frenchman looks set to help himself to the seconds.

Burgaudeau leads Laporte and Guillaume Martin through the sprint, and they snaffle up the bonus seconds. No sparks among the top GC men in the sprint.

-7.5km

Burgaudeau hasn't relented after the sprint and he pushes on the pace on the descent. He almost comes a cropper on a corner but steadies himself and then pushes on once more. Guillaume Maritn leads the peloton, with Bryan Coquard in mind.

-7km

Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) attacks behind Burgaudeau. Mauri Vensevenant and Matteo Jorgensen are the first to follow, but the rest of the bunch closes them down soon afterwards.

-6km

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) leads by 10 seconds into the final 6km and he is fully committed to his solo effort.

-5km

Break:

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies)

Peloton at 0:15

Burgaudeau has extended his advantage, but a number of fast men, including Ethan Hayter and Cees Bol, have battled their way back up to the rear of the peloton.

-4km

18 seconds for the dogged Burgaudeau. He can't, can he? Trek-Segafredo return to the front of the peloton to lead the chase on behalf of Mads Pedersen.

-3km

Burgaudeau's lead hit 20 seconds at one point, but now it's contracting. He clutches a lead of 14 seconds as he enters the final 3km.

Burgaudeau rides with his tongue out in the manner of Jacky Durand. Christophe Laporte leads the chase and his strength is such that he has ridden off the front of the peloton with Luca Mozzato on his wheel.. 

-1.5km

Burgaudeau looks to have a winning gap unless the chase gets itself organised switfly behind...

-1km

Into the final kilometre for Burgaudeau. Laporte leads the peloton on behalf of Van Aert, and the gap is closing rapidly now...

Burgaudeau climbs from the saddle as he enters the final 500m. He's still in front as he swings into the finishing straight...

Burgaudeau is still in front as the sprint opens behind him...

Mads Pedersen draws near but Burgaudeau is hanging on...

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) wins stage 6 of Paris-Nice.

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) won the sprint for second ahead of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) remains in the overall lead.

Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) on his victory: "The legs were really good like they had been since the start of the season, but cycling isn’t just about the physical, you have to have the confidence and be sure in your head. That’s what I was lacking in the last weeks and a lot of times in the past, but today I told myself to go and not look back."