Stage 6 of the 2025 Tour de France was one of those days that reminds everyone why breakaway victories still matter. Ben Healy launched a daring solo move with 40km to go and made it stick, claiming his first-ever Tour stage win in Vire Normandie after a brutal, attritional day through the Normandy countryside. Behind him, the battle for yellow came down to the wire, with Mathieu van der Poel reclaiming the maillot jaune from Tadej Pogaฤar by just one second.
The stage rolled out from Bayeux under blazing sunshine, with 201.5km ahead and six categorised climbs on the profile. It looked like a good day for the breakaway, but the first 20km were oddly sedate, as Intermarchรฉ-Wanty and Lidl-Trek kept the bunch together for the intermediate sprint in Villers-Bocage. Jonathan Milan won it ahead of Biniam Girmay and Van der Poel, gaining ground in the points competition before the racing exploded.
Once that sprint was out of the way, the gloves came off. The first to go were Healy and Quinn Simmons, joined soon by Will Barta and Harold Tejada. As the pace lifted, Michael Storer, Eddie Dunbar, Simon Yates and finally Van der Poel himself joined what would become the dayโs definitive move. It took over 40km of full racing to form the break, such was the intensity of the peloton behind. UAE Team Emirates were content to let the move go, but only after the likes of Wout van Aert and Pablo Castrillo were chased down in earlier flurries.
Breakaway builds a gap, and Healy launches solo
Once established, the eight-man group worked smoothly, pulling out over four minutes on the peloton. But the cooperation didnโt last. On the Cรดte de Juvigny-le-Tertre, the penultimate climb of the day, Healy struck with a perfectly timed attack, taking advantage of a technical section to steal a gap before his companions could react.
His solo effort was committed from the outset. With a waxed chain, full aero skinsuit and marginal gains dialled in, he built his lead to 50 seconds by the 30km mark. The group behind hesitated, then fractured. Simmons and Storer broke clear of the rest, trying to hunt Healy down over the rolling run-in to Vire Normandie, but never got closer than 40 seconds.
Behind them, Van der Poel was visibly suffering but clung to the remnants of the breakaway. The peloton, meanwhile, had allowed the gap to drift out to nearly seven minutes. That began to shrink only in the final 20km, when Visma – Lease a Bike suddenly surged forward, possibly hoping to put Pogaฤar back in yellow through time bonuses or fatigue.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersVan der Poel fights the clock, Simmons frustrated again
Healy held on to win by a clear margin, soloing into Vire Normandie after 40km alone in the wind and sun. Simmons pipped Storer for second, but the American national champion was clearly gutted to come so close again. After two near misses already this season, he was left wondering what more he could do.
For Van der Poel, the final was a race against the clock. He had started the day 1:28 down on Pogaฤar, and by the finish, his eighth-place result put him just 1:29 ahead of the Slovenian on the stage. It was enough – just – to take the yellow jersey back by a single second.
Pogaฤar finished ninth on the day, alongside Jonas Vingegaard in tenth, both having followed Vismaโs late pace on the final climb. He gave up yellow but seemed entirely content with the outcome, especially as teammate Tim Wellens also took back the polka-dot jersey.
Behind the scenes, planned and executed to perfection
Healyโs victory wasnโt a fluke. EF Education-EasyPost had marked stage 6 early, and the team drove the course in the morning to identify the exact point to launch his attack. That moment came with 41km to go, and Healy didnโt hesitate. Sports director Tom Southam admitted he briefly entertained the idea of a yellow jersey for Healy, before being told to focus on the stage win.
The team knew Healy needed to attack early to make it stick, especially against the strength of the breakaway group. His effort was all-in from the start, and as teammate Michael Valgren put it at the finish, โyou need the legs to finish it off, and he had them.โ
A rare jersey exchange, and more to come
Pogaฤar giving up a race lead voluntarily is almost unheard of. But the Slovenian made clear that UAE Team Emirates had decided not to chase the break, conserving energy ahead of the Mรปr-de-Bretagne finish on stage 7. Whether Vismaโs late acceleration was tactical pressure or genuine hope of dropping Van der Poel, the end result worked for all parties.
Van der Poel, in his own words, was unsure how long heโd keep yellow: โIt will probably only be for one day, but itโs really nice to wear it again.โ With the climb to Mรปr-de-Bretagne looming – the very same where he took his first yellow jersey in 2021 – it might not be over just yet.
What is certain, though, is that the breakaway riders will remain central to this race. Healy proved that even on stages earmarked for GC favourites, thereโs still space to steal the show.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters2025 Tour de France Stage 6 result
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Main photo credit: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
