American Nielson Powles, in his first Tour de France, celebrated his 24th birthday on Thursday with a chance to win a stage. He was part of an eight-man breakaway group on stage 6 and showed off his climbing skills throughout the 191-km route that ended at the summit of Mont Egual.

He attacked small groups several times on both Category 3 climbs to the summit finish and held on to fourth place.

"There were a lot of people who wanted to get into the breakaway (on stage 6). It wasn't easy to get into the break. Nielson rode great there," said Tom Southam, sport director of EF Pro Cycling.

"He did a great job. He's still young and that's how you learn. He's young and that's how he learns. It was his first chance to try to win a stage in the Tour, so we focused on that."

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana ProTeam) and Jesus Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Credit) escaped, giving Lutsenko his first Tour win and leaving Paules to fight with Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaat for the final podium spot. Paules had to fight with Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaat for the last podium. Powles did not have the final knockout punch, but he was happy with his placement.

"I thought I had a good match with those guys up there, but I got a little too carried away in the last 25 km or so," he said. That cost me." In the end, I'm proud of that run and it was really great to be at the front in the Tour de France."

Powles wrote on his Twitter page, "Best. Birthday. Best birthday.

On Thursday, the first 146 km of stage 6 was fast and flat, allowing the peloton to break eight riders and climb toward their second summit finish in the first week of the 2020 Tour de France. On the downhill of the Category 3 Cap de Coste with less than 40 km to go, Movistar's Enric Mass apparently locked up his brakes and crashed in a corner.

The Spaniard returned to the peloton with the help of Dario Cataldo, Nelson Oliveira, and Carlos Verona. He was able to finish the stage despite a bruised right side and a swollen wrist.

"I hope it's just 'sheet metal and paint.' I caught a rock in the corner," Mas said on Twitter.

In a statement posted on the team's website, he added that everything looks fine. 'I just took the gloves off and it looks a little swollen. I took a turn over a stone on the downhill before the last climb."

"This is part of the Tour, and setbacks can happen in a 21-day race. As for the legs, everything seems to be going well."

"I'm very happy with the way everything is going.

Mas was one of three Movistar riders, along with Alejandro Valverde and Marc Soler, to finish with the main group at the summit of Monte Eguar, 2:53 behind stage winner Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Pro Team). Mas was 18th and Valverde 19th.

Nicolas Roche finished stage 6 of the Tour de France in 56th place. This was a long ride after being part of a one-day breakaway that saw Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) win on the summit of Mont Aigoual.

The Sunweb riders covered most of the 191-km race, from the start of Le Taille to the final climb of the Col de la Russette.

"I'm tired and a little disappointed," Roche said at the finish. I think I did well for most of the day, but unfortunately my rhythm changed on the steep climbs in the first category and I was completely fucked." 0]

Roche was part of a decisive breakaway group that included Avermart, who started 3:17 back on GC, Lutsenko, Jesus Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Credit), Nielson Powles (EF Pro Cycling), Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT Pro Cycling), Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Remi Cavagna (Detunink-Quickstep) were included.

Roche earned KOM points in the first category mountains, Cap de Coste and Col de Moulin. However, he made contact with a breakaway group on the steep Col de la Luzette, the last category 1 climb leading to Mont Egual. Lutsenko, in the breakaway, held off Elada and Van Avermaat to take the stage win single-handedly, with Paules finishing in fourth place.

"I wanted to be in the breakaway group on this stage," Roche said. But unfortunately I wasn't strong enough to stay with the leaders on the second last climb. I had studied it well over the past few days, so I wasn't surprised by the steepness.

"Today was like a tick on the side. Yesterday, I intentionally lost time in the last 10 kilometers in order to make up some ground for today. Sometimes I know it, but my legs just can't keep up. It will take me a stage or so to recover, but hopefully I can try again in the next few weeks."