Martin claims second Tour de France stage win

Ireland’s Dan Martin has won a thrilling stage 6 of the Tour de France after a gruelling 181km ride. It was Martin’s second stage win in the tour after also wining a stage in 2013.

The 31 year-old was rewarded for his courageous approach and he made his move on the last climb of the Mur de Bretagne.

"I felt really good yesterday and that was a really good sign for today. I felt comfortable," he said.

"It's great to get a win after so many second places since the last one.”

"I was afraid of the crosswinds and maybe it was adrenaline but the legs were there and it all worked out. There were a lot of contenders in that group so I was glad to hang on."

There was a slight split in the peloton behind, with Mitchelton-Scott's Adam Yates part of a group that picked up a couple of seconds on the main pack, which contained Team Sky's Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, Movistar's Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa, and BMC's Richie Porte.

But there were losses further back, with AG2R La Mondiale's Romain Bardet hit by problems on the short two-kilometre climb and Team Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin also distanced after suffering a mechanical problem with six kilometres left.

Martin left QuickStep earlier this year for UAE Team Emirates, citing his ambition for a tour victory as his main reason. He has secured a sixth and ninth place finish in the past two years and targeted a podium finish for 2018.

It was a fantastic response having come very close during stage five as Peter Sagan won on a sprint finish yesterday. Today, Martin won the battle of strong climbers as he finished ahead of French man Pierre Latour and Spaniard Alejandro Velverde. The result means that Greg van Avermaet retains the leaders yellow jersey with Team Sky's Geraint Thomas moving up to second, three seconds back.