Friday, July 11: Live updates from Stage 6
MARENNES, France

215.5km

12:19 p.m. (local time):
The peloton is riding slowly together over the first 10 kms.

12:27 p.m (local time):
At the day’s lone climb, the category-four Cote de Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe at 17 kms, Festina’s Laurent Brochard topped out first to keep the climber’s jersey for another day. Festina teammates Pascal Herve and Joona Laukka were second and third, respectively.

1:09 p.m. (local time):
The pace is slow in the first hour, with the peloton covering just 28.9 kms.

1:19 (local time):
The pace picks up as the peloton rides through the 41km mark together.

2:09 p.m. (local time):
The peloton remains together, with no attacks or other news. The peloton covered 32 kms in its second hour.

2:39 p.m. (local time):
The peloton has been rerouted 4 kms at the 79km mark to avoid a protest by anti-nuclear activists blocking the road. It's common for protesters to use the high-profile Tour to propagate their messages. Last year, angry farmers threw nails on the course in the Massif Central, and in Spain, Basque separatists briefly blocked the course during the Pamplona stage. Despite the detour, the peloton is riding together.

2:44 p.m. (local time):
The peloton is back on the official course at the 84km mark after making the detour to avoid the protesters.

3:03 p.m. (local time):
Lauri Aus (Casino) and Gan’s Eros Poli have pulled off the front at the 93km mark nearing the day’s feed zone.

3:14 p.m. (local time):
The attack is reeled back in and the peloton is going slowly, passing the 103km mark 38 minutes slower than the projected time.

Sprints earlier in the stage:

At 59.5 km: Telekom’s Zabel edges Gan’s O’Grady and Casino’s Kasputis is third.

At 71 kms: Zabel wins the day’s second sprint, with Lotto’s Abdoujaparov second and Saeco’s Cipollini third. With the time bonuses, Zabel moves ahead of Cipollini in the g.c. through the first two of three sprints in the stage.

3:46 p.m. (local time):
At the 123 km, the peloton is riding together. The final 90 kms are long, flat with a slight crosswind.

3:54 p.m. (local time):
The peloton is riding together.

4:02 p.m. (local time):
At the 130km mark, Mig Mat’s Pascal Lance peels off the front, building up 17 seconds on the main group of riders.

4:04 p.m. (local time):
Lance’s lead is 23”.

4:09 p.m. (local time):
MG’s Finco gives chase.

4:11 p.m. (local time):
A crash takes down several riders in the middle of the peloton, including much of the Cofidis team. Riders clipped wheels on the tight roads and about 20 riders went down in the middle of the group. Casino’s Christophe Agnolutto, Mercatone’s Beat Zberg, Banesto’s Jose Luis Arrieta, and TVM’s Laurent Roux have fallen back, losing time in the spill.

4:16 p.m. (local time):
Lance is 27” ahead, with Finco 12” back.

4:22 p.m. (local time):
Another crash, this time Saeco’s Cipollini and Telekom’s Udo Bolts hit the pavement.

4:23 p.m. (local time):
Cipollini falls back off the peloton.

4:26 p.m. (local time):
Finco gives up on the break, Lance remains 28” ahead of the peloton. Cipollini is back with the lead group after doctors attended to an abrasion on his right leg.

4:36 p.m. (local time):
At the 154 km mark, Lance’s lead is 47” ahead of the peloton. The final 60 kms of the stage are flat going into Marennes. The sun has popped back out and it looks it won’t rain.

4:49 p.m. (local time):
Lance is still 43" ahead. Two riders tried to gap, but failed. Gan is still at the head of the peloton.

4:49 p.m. (local time):
Lance gives up on his break.

5:02 p.m. (local time):
Casino’s Ralf Jaermann and Lotto’s D. Abdoujaparov peel off the front to give chase, pulling 40” ahead of the peloton.

5:05 p.m. (local time):
The pair pull 1’05” ahead. Abdoujaparov was once one of the great sprinters in the peloton, winning the sprinters’ green jersey three times in the early 1990s. Now 33, Abdou must work breaks like these to win stages. Last year, the nine-time Tour stage-winner rode to victory in a long, solo breakaway to Tulle.

5:09 p.m. (local time):
The pair are 1’25” ahead, with Gan working the front of the peloton to protect the team’s yellow jersey won yesterday by Cedric Vasseur in a solo breakaway win.

5:16 p.m. (local time):
The pair are two minutes ahead of the peloton. Both Jaermann and Abdoujaparov are more than 10 minutes behind in the g.c., so Gan has some wiggle room to protect Vasseur’s jersey.

5:21 p.m. (local time):
It appears that the peloton’s hungry for another sprint, with the pair’s lead narrowed to 1’28” coming into the final 30 kms of the stage.

5:24 p.m. (local time):
Another crash sends dozens of riders to the pavement about 30 riders back into the main peloton. The lead sprinters and top riders escape off the front, but the peloton is split into three groups. The duo in the break are ahead 1’34” at the 196km mark. Again, no early signs of major injuries in the third crash of the stage. TVM, Gan, and Mapei are at the front of the peloton, with the second group of Zabel and Vasseur back 15 seconds and another group 21 seconds further back.

5:31 p.m. (local time):
Jaermann, Abdou finish 1-2 in the final sprint of the day, with Moncassin peeling off the front of the peloton to take third with 18 kms to go.

5:42 p.m. (local time):
With 13 kms to go, Jaermann, Abdou are reeled in.

5:44 p.m. (local time):
With 10 kms to go, it’s a long, flat straightaway over salt marshes into the finish at Marennes. Batik’s Berzin and MG’s Bartoli were dropped, but have worked to get back with the main group of riders. Mapei is motoring the peloton.

5:49 p.m. (local time):
It looks like another sprint finish with 8 kms to the line. TVM’s Blijlevens, Gan’s Moncassin, and Mapei’s Steels are due for wins. With only two stages remaining before the Tour enters the Pyrenees on Sunday, count on an exciting finish with Telekom’s Zabel and Saeco’s Cipollini looking for more stage wins.

6:03 p.m. (local time):
In a dangerous final sprint, Telekom’s Erik Zabel won his second stage of the 1997 Tour, holding off a late-charging Jeroen Blijlevens (TVM) and third-place D. Abdoujaparov (Lotto).

Gan’s Cedric Vasseur retains the overall leader’s jersey, while Zabel moves ahead of Mario Cipollini (Saeco) into second in g.c.

Mercatone’s Mario Traversoni was fourth, Batik’s Nicola Minali was fifth, and Gan’s Frederic Moncassin sixth. Mapei’s Tom Steels threw his water bottle at someone in disgust after being boxed out in a frantic final sprint as riders jostled for position over the final kilometer.

A group of 20 riders finished 1’31” behind of the main group of riders, with many ONCE riders. Team captain Laurent Jalabert, however, finished with the main group.

6:45 p.m. (local time):
Zabel has been stripped of his Stage 6 win, after officials cited him for "irregular sprinting." Tom Steels has been expelled from the Tour for throwing a water bottle at Frédéric Moncassin after being boxed out in the final kilometer.

7:25 p.m. (local time):
Tour de France officials have created chaos following the finish of the Tour's sixth stage.

Tour officials have ruled the following:

Stage-winner Erik Zabel (Telekom) was disqualified and moved to the bottom of the day's results after an illegal charge in the final sprint.

Mapei's Tom Steels was kicked out of the race after he threw a water bottle at another racer in disgust near the end of the stage.

The day's third-place finisher, Lotto's Djamolidin Abdoujaparov was thrown out of the race after he failed his anti-doping test.

New results:
1. Jeroen Blijlevens, TVM
2. Mario Traversoni, Mercatone Uno
3. Nicola Minali, Batik

8:48 p.m. (local time):
Evgeni Berzin (Batik) broke his collarbone in one of the day's crashes, and is out of the Tour.