Froome-Quintana battle still looming after calm mountain leg

Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro and Czech cyclist Jan Barta are off in a breakaway early in the sixth stage of the Tour de France.

Defending champion Chris Froome and two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana finished in the main pack, while two-time victor Alberto Contador and 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali fell out of contention.

“It’s good to have good morale in the team and to take the pressure off”, Van Avermaet said.

As for stage 7 and what it represents in the Tour overall, Contador said, “I’m not sure, I was going to call it the crunch test of this year’s Tour, but it’s not that, it’s too soon in the race to say that”.

Contador was already 48 seconds behind his rivals for overall victory following two crashes in the opening two stages, and he lost another 33 seconds on Wednesday as he continued to struggle with superficial impact injuries.

Peter Sagan of Slovakia puts on the overall leader’s yellow jersey on the podium after the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 237.5 kilometers (147.3 miles) with start in Saumur and finish in Limoges, France, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. “But I’m hanging in there”.

“The most important thing was not crashing, because the descents were tricky and the pavement was melting”, Van Avermaet said. “I’m trying to get a good run at it, but it’s a bit more hard when you’ve not got a full (lead-out) train”.

There are only a handful of chances for the sprinters left, starting with Thursday’s stage six from Arpajon-sur-Cere to Montauban, and then concluding with the traditional sprint in Paris. The next mountain stages come this weekend in the Pyrenees, although the Tour may not be decided until the race reaches the Alps in the third week.