Tour De France 2008: Stage Six - As It Happened

4.50pm: "Race director Christian Prudhomme is Man of the Tour so far," writes Gary Naylor. "Great to see proper climbing in the first week, no silly prologue and top men vying for the Yellow Jersey."

General classification after stage six

1. Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) 24hr 30min 41sec2. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) +6sec3. Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) +16sec4. Christian Vandevelde (Garmin Chipotle) +44sec5. David Millar (Garmin Chipotle) +47sec6. Thomas Lovqvist (Team Columbia) +54sec7. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) +1min 03sec8. Alejandro Valverde (Caisse D'Erpagne) +1min 12sec9. Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) +1min 21sec10 Oscar Pereiro (Caisse D'Erpagne +1min 21sec

Green jersey (points)

Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)

Polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains)

Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)

White jersey (young rider)

Thomas Lovqvist (Team Columbia)

Stage six result

1. Riccardo Ricco (ITA) SDV2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE +1sec3. Cadel Evans (AUS) SIL +1sec4. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC +4sec5. Kim Kirchen (LUX) COL +4sec6. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) LIQ +7sec7. Moises Duenas Nevado (ESP) BAR +7sec8. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC +7sec9. Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB +7sec10. Leonardo Piepoli (ITA) SDV +7sec

4.30pm: Having put in a sterling day's work, Stefan Schumacher will be gutted to lose the yellow jersey to - ironically enough - Kim Kirchen, the man whose wheel he ran into in the closing stages. Cadel Evans moves into second on general classification, with Schumacher third, Valverde fourth, Millar fifth, Lovkvist sixth and Menchov seventh.

4.25pm: Race leader Stefan Schumacher falls back in the field, while Saunier Duval rider Ricardo Ricco takes the stage with a strong finishing sprint that leaves Alejandro Valverde trailing in his wake.

4.23pm: The cyclists roll under the 1km-to-go kite with all the big guns nicely positioned at the front, eyeing each other suspiciously. Kim Kirchen finds himself at the front with Valverde looking composed on his back wheel.

4.21pm: Efimkin, Moncoutie, Leonardo Piepoli and Christian Vande Velde, who has his eye on the yellow jersey, are clear, but look certain to get collared before the finish.

4.13pm: There's 5.4km to go, with a steep climb to come, then a drop, followed by another steep climb to the finish line, where double points will be awarded to the first six riders across because it's a category two or higher. Vladimir Efimkin (ALM) leads David Moncoutie (COF) by 10 seconds and the peloton by 15 seconds.

4.10pm: "There's so much rubbish reported about Cav and the Cipollini incident," harrumphs Patrick McGuirk. "Cipollini challenged Mark the day before to ride past on one pedal if he was so good. Cav did so and Mario apparently thought it was hilarious. Get a grip fellas - there's time for fun in pro sport and sure Cavendish has balls like melons but needs to have to sprint like he does. Now calm the hysteria boys and girls."

4.10pm: I'm afraid I can't help those of you who are wondering where David Millar is. I haven't heard him mentioned all afternoon, which would suggest he might be with the also-rans in Peloton II: The Grupetto.

4.09pm: Before I forget about him altogether, I should mention that race leader Stefan Schumacher has spent the afternoon comfortably tucked in near the front of the peloton. Seven kilometres to go.

4.07pm: Having touched wheels with somebody and taken a spill off his bike, Erik Zabel is currently making his way from the back to the front of the bunch, no doubt with a view to winning some green jersey points at the business end of the stage.

4.05pm: The peloton cycles under the 10km-to-go kite. Laurent Lefevre from the Bouygues Telecom team and his French compatriot Yoann Le Boulanger have launched an attack and are about 10 seconds clear of the peloton.

4pm: Having finished their descent of the Col de la Croix-Morand, the riders prepare for the last climb of the day. Botcharov and Bichot have both been reeled in by the bunch.

Eurosport predictions for the stage win

Sean Kelly has gone for Ricardo Ricco. Carlton Kirby has gone for Damien Cunego.Emma Davies-Jones has gone for Alejandro Valverde.David Harmon has gone for Kim Kirchen.

3.55pm: Alexandre Botcharov, the Siberian rider from the Credit Agricole team has put eight seconds between himself and the peloton - he's 10 seconds behind Bichot.

3.55pm: Alejandro Valverde's Caisse d'Eparge team are dragging the peloton along in an attempt to close the 16 second gap separating them from Freddy Bichot.

3.50pm: Sylvain Chavanel and Thomas Voeckler are level on points for the King of the Mountains jersey at the moment. Chavanel has decided to ease up and rejoin the peloton, leaving Freddy Bichot ploughing a lone furrow 11 seconds up the road with 18km to go.

3.40pm: Descending the Col de la Croix-Morand, the gap between the Sylvain Chavanel and Freddy Bichot double act and what's left of the peloton is 47 seconds.

3.36pm: After ensuring that he picked up the points for third place in the climb, Thomas Voeckler attacked the peloton, taking Sandy Casar and Gorka Verdugo with him. On the descent, however, they failed to put much ground between themselves and the peloton.

Results of third climb

1. Sylvain Chavanel (COF) 10pts2. Freddy Bichot (AGR) 9pts3. Thomas Voeckler (BTL) 8pts - at 56"4. Sandy Casar (FDJ) 7pts5. Gorka Verdugo (EUS) 6pts6. Luis Sanchez (GCE) 5pts

3.32pm: The peloton puts a stop to Remi Pauriol's gallop, dropping Thor Hushovd in the process. Meanwhile in the breakaway, Sylvain Chavanel takes the 10 points for being first over the Col de la Croix-Morand. I'm think that should be enough to put him in the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey tomorrow.

3.30pm: Freddy Bichot and Sylvain Chavanel are sharing water and the workload as they stretch the gap between themselves and the peloton to 2min 25sec. Further back, Remi Pauriol has caught and passed Benoit Vaugrenard, who has now been swallowed by the peloton. Roman Feillu, who wore the yellow jersey the day before yesterday has been dropped by the peloton and is struggling.

3.20pm: With Sylvain Chavanel dictating a murderous pace, FDJ rider Benoit Vaugrenard gets dropped from the breakaway group, leaving Chavanel and Freddy Bichot alone out in front. Two minutes behind, Remi Pauriol of the Credit Agricole team attacks the peloton on the beginning of the eight kilometre climb to the third summit of the stage, the col de la Croix Morand. At the front of the peloton, the Quickstep, Agritubel and Liquigas teams are moving forward to join Gerolsteiner in making the pace. A few stragglers are also being dropped out the back of the peloton. They'll end up forming their own little non-climbing bunch, the bus or grupetto, with the sole aim of finishing the stage inside the time limit and avoiding elimination.

3.17pm: "Good to have a mention of SuperMario Cippollini, who, as you write, was hardly modest," writes Gary Naylor. "He once turned up for a stage in full Roman toga. But he also gave my favorite sporting interview answer - to the stock question: 'What would you be if you weren't a pro cyclist?'. The Lion King (© David Duffield) replied: 'Porn Star'."

3.15pm: A man sitting on the back of a motorcycle takes out a small blackboard and proceeds to write on it in chalk. He holds it up in front of the three French cyclists in the breakaway. It reads "1min 58sec".

An assignment for the class: "I am told there is an incredible photo of Sean Kelly in a sprint towards a finish line where he is leaning into another rider, pulling that rider's jersey with his teeth," writes Matthew Murphy. "I have failed to find it on the web. Can anyone help? I would love to get a hold of it."

3.10pm: With 48.6km to go, the gap between the three-man breakaway and the peloton is 2min 09sec.

3.05pm: "I think Cavendish saying he has 'nothing to learn' from missing the sprint the other day just shows that he's still a pup," writes Kathi Hall. "He comes off as very petulant and spoilt. As for his insult to Cipo, that's not class at all – when he achieves anything like what Cipo has achieved, then he can ride one-legged all he wants. But he has a lot to prove yet and I would bet that the peloton is a nasty place if you mark your copy book with the wrong people."

3pm: But if cricket's not your bag, why not sign up for our spanking new fantasy football game, which is apparently the most realistic of its kind in the whole world. And it's free.

2.55pm: "As a matter of interest does Prince Albert have a Prince Albert?" asks Paul Griffin. "Anyone who discovered they shared their name with a genital piercing would be bound to give it a go, surely? I am sure it is no way defamatory to suggest he might." I'm not, Paul, but I suppose we'll soon find out. By the way, if anyone wants to follow England's batting collapse against South Africa in the first Test from Lord's as it happens, Andy Bull is covering it in this over-by-over report.

2.50pm: "It's probably just the way he is," said the notoriously modest Cipollini of the incident in question. "He probably hasn't figured out how to behave. I don't think it's clever to do that to a rider like me. I could be his father and I think he should have more respect. He's fast but he's still a kid."

2.45pm: "People say Cavendish is wrong to be arrogant," writes James Scoular, who has obviously been reading some of the comments beneath this column from today's Guardian. "What morons. All the best sprinters are arrogant. Cavendish is also boldly arrogant. I read that during the Tour of California he rode past the great man Cipollini one-legged at one point to dig in his superiority. Class."

2.45pm: With 65km to go and the gap between the breakaway and the rest at 3min 34sec, the rain is now tipping down.

2.40pm: Further to Patrick O'Brien's query at 2.20pm, it turns out there isn't actually a middle-aged woman in a pink blouse and green sun-visor whose job it is to wander around France picking up the water-bottles discarded by the cyclists. Apparently there's an army of volunteers that follows the Tour around picking up the litter left by the cyclists and the caravan. However, the bidons and musettes are prized as souvenirs among spectators and are usually quickly snapped up.

2.35pm: Cadel Evans is currently being paced back into the race by his Silence-Lotto team-mates after suffering a puncture. As he passes a motorcycle gendarme, he taps the policeman on the shoulder and, having got his attention, points at his own eye as if to say "Oi! Look where you're going!" I can only surmise that the policeman rode over Evans's wheel while he was taking a leak, puncturing his tyre in the process.

2.32pm: 74km to go and the gap between the all-French echappée-fleuve(© Roger Hughes) and the chansing pack is down to 3min 18sec.

2.30pm: I'm prepared to bet that when fourth-placed (on general classification) rider Cadel Evans discreetly pulled in to the side of the road to take a piss in a ditch a short time ago, he had no idea that tens of Guardian-readers would be reading about his micturating just 30 seconds later. Big Brother is watching you, Cadel.

2.25pm: Those insouciantly hurled bidons get picked up by a plump woman in a pink blouse and green sun-visor who then hands them to a small boy, who may or may not be her son, to keep as a souvenir. That's certainly what happened to the water-bottle that I saw being insouciantly to the side of the road as the riders were passing through the feeding station.

2.20pm: The peloton passes through the feeding station, where Cofidis rider Florent Braard comes a cropper when his musette (bag of grub) gets tangled up in the spokes of his front wheel. "What happens to all those drink bottles the riders insouciantly hurl to the passive countryside as they glide by?" asks Patrick O'Brien. I'll tell you now, Patrick ...

2.15pm: Having fallen twice yesterday, Caisse d'Epargne leader Alejandro Valverde is covered in bandages today and understandably didn't get much sleep last night due in no small part to the right-hand side of his body covered in road burn. "The level of the injuries isn't severe so it should be no problem but he does have grazes on his arms and wasn't able to rest too well last night," said his Directeur Sportif, Eusebio Unzue this morning. "He's in pain but that is typical in the days following a fall. It's a normal situation after a crash and hopefully it's not too serious. Within the next two or three days, when the race arrives in the Pyrenees, we hope he has fully recovered. Today we will try not to waste energy and if he progresses, then we can consider our plans for the coming stages."

2.10pm: "According to the Team Satnav/Fastfood website, David Miller's favourite film is Ratatouille," writes David Hudson. "What is that all about? Granted it is amusing; my four year old particularly likes the bit where Linguini tips the glass of wine on his head. But surely any self respecting racer has to chose Les Triplettes de Belleville as their favourite piece of animation?"Or American Flyers, starring Kevin Costner, as their favourite movie.

2.05pm: The Gerolsteiner team of race leader Stefan Schumacher is currently on the front of the peloton, dictating the tempo in order to make sure that Sylvain Chavenal doesn't get too far ahead. Chavanel is 29th on general classification, 2min 10sec behind Schumacher, but with a 4min 15sec lead on the road.

2pm: It seems that Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, has got a Prince Albert since we saw him last and is busily showing it off to the thousands of spectators who are lining the route of today's stage. Lest anyone should think this is an outrage against what passes for public decency in France, I should probably point out that the Prince Albert in question is not a genital piercing, but an obscenely wealthy monarch from Monaco, who is the guest of honour in Prudhomme's car today.

1.50pm: At the summit of the cote de Crocq the peloton was 4min 15sec behind the all-French echappée-fleuve(© Roger Hughes, yesterday's min-by-min report).

Results of first intermediate sprint

1. Sylvain Chavanel (COF) 6pts2. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) 4pts3. Freddy Bichot (AGR) 2pts

Results of second intermediate sprint

1. Freddy Bichot (AGR) 6pts2. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) 4pts3. Sylvain Chavanel (COF) 2pts

Results of first climb

1. Sylvain Chavanel (COF) 3pts2. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) 2pts3. Freddy Bichot (AGR) 1pt.

Result of second climb

1. Sylvain Chavanel (COF) 3pts2. Freddy Bichot (AGR) 2pts3. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) 1pt

1.45pm: With 103km to go, a three-man breakaway comprised of three Frenchmen, Sylvain Chavanel (COF), Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) and Freddy Bichot (AGR), is 4min 20sec clear of the peloton. Chavanal made his move at the six kilometre mark - prompting the other two to launch a counter-attack - and is the "virtual leader" of this year's Tour on the road.

1.40pm: A grand total of 176 riders set off this morning. Aurilien Passeron of the Saunier Duval team, who crashed into a spectator near the finish of yesterday's stage, was an overnight retiree. I understand that the woman he knocked down is OK.

Technical information we've culled from the official Tour website: The journey from Aigurande to Super Besse includes four categorised climbs: two category-four ascents (the Cote de L'Armelle at 70km and the Cote de Crocq at 89km) and the first category-two rises in the 95th edition (the Col de la Croix-Morand at 158km and the climb to the finish).Although it is regarded as a mountain stage there are still three intermediate sprints in Chatelus-Malvaleix (23.5km), Cressat (44.5km) and La Bourboule (144km).

Read all about it ...

Will Fotheringham typed his fingers to the bone to bring you this report on yesterday's maiden stage win by Mark Cavendish, who provided his own account of the momentous triumph in this here column. We've also got this feature on the 10th anniversary of the Tour of Shame, while anyone who wants to survey Tour stage maps or brush up on their Tour tactics, could do worse than peruse our multi-media guide. You'll find any other Tour de France 2008 news and comment you might need in our trusty special report.

Today's stage

A sprinter who, by his own admission, is rubbish at climbing, yesterday's stage winner Mark Cavendish is unlikely to feature in the shakeup at the end of today's stage. While not exactly alpine in profile, the mountains the riders will cross today will test the mettle of any competitor who fancies his chances of winning this year's Tour outright, while the summit finish line at Super-Besse will give indicate of which riders are in the best physical nick after the best part of a week in the saddle.

General classification after stage five

1. Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) 14hr 04min 41sec2. Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) +12sec3. David Millar (Garmin Chipotle) +12sec4. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) +21sec5. Fabian Cancellara ((CSC) +33sec6. Christian Vandevelde (Garmin Chipotle) +37sec7. George Hincapie (Team Columbia) +41sec8. Thomas Lovkvist (Team Columbia) +47sec9. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) +58sec10. José Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse D'Epargne) +1min 01sec97. Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia) +05min 58sec