Tour de France | Mathieu van der Poel back in the yellow jersey as Ben Healy pulls off breakaway masterclass to win in Vire

Stage 6 of the Tour de France was the first day where there was a real breakaway battle and it delivered fireworks from start to finish. Several of the peloton's best classics and climbers attacked for a very long time to form a strong breakaway group; and from there Ben Healy took a stunning solo win in Vire Normandie. Mathieu van der Poel joined the day's breakaway, and has snatched the yellow jersey back into Alpecin-Deceuninck's shoulders.

The start of the stage was marked by Intermarché - Wanty and Lidl-Trek's control over the peloton, so that their leaders Biniam Girmay and Jonathan Milan would sprint for the points that were available. Shortly after a few strong attacks began to surge, but it took a long time before the breakaway group was formed.

Ben Healy, Simon Yates, Michael Storer, Mathieu van der Poel, Quinn Simmons, Will Barta, Eddie Dunbar and Harold Tejada formed an eight-rider formed the eight-rider breakaway. There was a particularly active dynamic between Visma attacking and UAE covering their attacks - including a moment where Tadej Pogacar responded directly to Matteo Jorgenson - but ultimately Yates' presence in front wouldn't change the race scenario.

The peloton, led by UAE, initially kept a high pace but later on let the gap balloon into as much as 7 minutes, with Pogacar wanting to let go of the yellow jersey to Mathieu van der Poel. In front the fight for the stage win began with 43 kilometers to go as Ben Healy attacked by himself. 'Group 2 syndrome' took over shortly after and the Irishman built a gap of almost a minute over the seven chasers before they began attacking each other.

Quinn Simmons made the difference on one of the climbs, followed by Michael Storer, but the two could only settle for minor places as Healy showed his absolute best level and stormed to a solo win of fantastic dimensions, crossing the line in Vire Normandie with over 2 minutes of lead over his closest competitors. Quinn Simmons sprinted to second in front of Storer whilst Mathieu van der Poel - even in quite a lot of difficulty - managed to gain enough time to jump into the yellow jersey.