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VIDEO - STAGE 6 PREVIEW

TOUR DE FRANCE 2014

Tour de France stage 6: Greipel sprints to victory

German Andre Greipel sprinted to victory in stage six of the Tour de France on Thursday on a poignant day in which riders snaked their way through World War One battlefields in northern France.

Tour de France stage 6: Greipel sprints to victory
Andre Greipel's win means Germans are dominating the 2014 Tour de France with four sage wins out of five. Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP

Andre Greipel returned to form in style by sprinting to victory in Thursday's sixth stage of the Tour de France.

The German continued his country's impressive Tour form by winning the 194km stage from Arras to Reims.

Compatriot Marcel Kittel had won three of the first four stages.

Norway's Alexander Kristoff was second with Samuel Dumoulin of France third.

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali kept hold of the yellow jersey as he and the rest of the overall contenders finished safely in a reduced peloton.

An early four-man breakaway failed to ignite a stage that had a sense of anti-climax following the drama of Wednesday's cobbled stage.

Things only got heated in the final 10km, after the escapees had been caught, when the pace rose and crosswinds contributed to a split in the peloton.

French champion Arnaud Demare was caught out, as well as his compatriot Thibaut Pinot, the top French hope in the general classification.

Having dominated the three previous sprints for stage wins, Kittel seemed to be suffering the effects of a fall on Wednesday while his team were strangely missing from the front of the peloton.

Before the final kilometre he had dropped out of the reckoning.

Without Kittel it was anyone's sprint to win but Greipel, hitherto out of sorts in the sprints, powered through to win his sixth Tour stage.

Stage 6 preview: Thursday's sixth stage takes the riders over 194km from Arras to Reims.

It is set to be a poignant day as it will include commemorations to remember those who died during World War I.

The day's course rides past several famous WWI battlefields, including the Chemin des Dames.

French president François Hollande is due to visit the Tour as it passes that point.

The roadside has also been planted with blue cornflowers especially for the occasion.

The blue cornflower has come to be regarded as the symbol of French WWI infantrymen, known as 'Poilus' (hairy ones) for their youth, virility and courage.

As a mark of remembrance, the white jersey worn by the best young rider in the peloton will, especially for the occasion, be emblazoned with a blue cornflower.

The peloton will pay tribute to former riders who died during the Great War, including three winners, Luxemburger François Faber and Frenchmen Octave Lapize and Lucien Petit-Breton.

Faber, a Francophile, had joined the French Foreign Legion and was killed on the front line on May 9th, 1915, tragically just a day after he found out about the birth of his daughter.

Lapize died in an aerial battle on July 14th, 1917, while Petit-Breton was killed in a car accident while on a mission.

It is part of around 2,000 commemorative events planned in France over the next four years to mark the centenary of World War I (1914-18).

Here's a video preview of stage 6

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SPORT

‘I never imagined it could feel this good’: Nibali

Vincenzo Nibali fought back tears as he stood on the Tour de France winner's podium and described the moment as better than he ever expected.

'I never imagined it could feel this good': Nibali
Vincenzo Nibali drinks champagne on the Champs-Elysées avenue in Paris, at the end of the 137.5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France. Photo: Jeff Pachoud/AFP

Nibali completed his victory at the 2014 Tour by finishing safely in the pack on Sunday's 21st and final stage from Evry to Paris, won by German Marcel Kittel.

"It's the most important and the best moment, I never imagined it could feel this good because when you find yourself on this podium on the Champs Elysées, it's unique," said Nibali, reading a prepared statement.

"Now that I'm here it's even better than I imagined. I fought for this every day, I started building from a long way out with a winter preparation with the team because we had decided this was our objective.

"Some people might think it's normal but I want to thank my (Astana) team because when you achieve an objective, you do so together, not just those here with me but also those back in Italy.

"It's a success that I want to dedicate to all the staff in the team and to my family, my wife Rachelle and my daughter Emma.

"If it hadn't been for my parents who have supported me since the beginning then I wouldn't have been here.

"I've never felt more emotional in my career."

After crossing the finish line, Nibali went straight up to his wife and baby to embrace both.

By winning the final stage, German sprint king Kittel matched Nibali's achievement of winning four stages on this Tour.

The Giant-Shimano sprinter thus equalled his feat from last year when he also won four stages — including both the first and last — and wore the yellow jersey for a day on stage two.

In the final sprint he initially looked to have been caught and passed by Alexander Kristoff before finding a second wind to power through and win.

Norwegian Kristoff, who won two previous stages, finished second with Lithuania's Ramunas Navardauskas, who also claimed a stage, coming third.

"It was actually my strategy for the sprint," said Kittel.

"I was meant to start not too early so when Kristoff passed me he had already had a little more time to accelerate and gain more speed.

"That was the reason why I was a bit behind him but then I could really start my sprint and accelerate and I noticed the moment when Kristoff couldn't go faster any more.

"That was the moment to pass him again. It was close, there was a moment I thought it really wasn't enough at the end but I'm super happy."

Kittel, 26, paid tribute to his lead out team who put him in the position to win with 300m left.

"It's incredible, I'm really proud of all the team. The guys worked really hard today, they put me in a perfect position," he added.

"It's been a great Tour in our team, and I don't forget my teammate (Ji Cheng) who fell, but we'll celebrate tonight."

The day's events started, as ever for the processional final stage, at a pedestrian pace as Nibali sipped champagne with his teammates and posed for photos with the other jersey winners.

Slovakian Peter Sagan won the green sprinters' points jersey for the third year in a row while young Pole Rafal Majka claimed the king of the mountains polkadot jersey.

Frenchman Thibaut Pinot won the young riders' white jersey and also finished third overall, behind compatriot Jean-Christophe Peraud.

While Ji, who crashed on the cobbles along the Champs Elysees and was even lapped as the peloton made eight circuits around the famous Parisian avenue, achieved more than just becoming the first Chinese rider to compete at and indeed finish a Tour.

He came 164th and last but also managed the largest gap between first and last since 1954, finishing 6hr 02min 24sec behind Nibali.

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