Ireland's Ben Healy won Stage 6 of the Tour de France 2025 in Normandy on Thursday with a long solo break, while Mathieu van der Poel reclaimed the overall leader's yellow jersey by one second.

Sixth at the start of the day, Van der Poel climbed above overnight leader Tadej Pogacar.

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Van der Poel was billed at the start of the Tour as a potential winner of Stage 7 to Mur de Bretagne, where he first took the yellow in 2021.

"It would be a great finale to a great week," said an exhausted Van der Poel on Thursday. "If I get the win or not, it'll be great anyway just to wear the yellow jersey again."

Belgian Remco Evenepoel is third at 49 seconds, with Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin fourth at one minutes and Jonas Vingegaard fifth at 1 minute, 14 seconds.

The 24-year-old Healy became the first Irish stage winner since sprinter Sam Bennett won on the Champs Elysees in 2020.

"That was so enjoyable, and once we had all got away, I discussed it with the team car, and we chose that unlikely place to attack," Healy said. "I'm very proud to be representing Ireland. I'm from an Irish family, and though I wasn't born there, it was an option I chose as a youngster."

Stage 6 was intense from the off over a series of hills between Bayeux and Vire as temperatures rose above 26.5 Celsius (80 Fahrenheit), with the peloton putting the hammer down at 47 kilometers per hour (29mph) average over the first three hours.

Healy and Van der Poel were part of a nine-man mid-race escape that set a relentless pace.

The Irishman broke solo knowing that if he waited for the hilly finale, he had little chance of beating the proven experts in the breakaway.

He made his move suddenly on a flat section, 42 kilometers out. As he pulled to the left and accelerated, the others dithered as the distance widened.

For Pogacar, allowing the Dutch powerhouse to sneak into the escape meant he got rid of the overall lead and relieved himself of media duties and the draining hullabaloo that comes with wearing the yellow jersey.

Once Healy had broken away, even Van der Poel sat up, saving energy, possibly for Friday's run up the Mur de Bretagne, scene of his 2021 triumph to seize the Tour lead he kept for eight days.

The Dutch Alpecin rider wilted at the end on Thursday. Behind him Pogacar and arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard battled up the final 10 percent slope, but van der Poel regained the lead by the narrowest margin.

Kevin (Vauquelin) The Conqueror

After an all-day effort, American champion Quinn Simmons came second, and Michael Storer put Team Tudor on the Tour podium for the first time in third.

The day started at Bayeux, renowned for its tapestry of the 1066 Norman conquest of England, but also the birthplace of burgeoning French star Vauquelin.

The 24-year-old Arkea rider was toast of the town as he left in third position on the Tour, just 59 seconds adrift of Pogacar and ended in fourth overall at one minute.

Ahead of the stage he hailed "the roads where I grew up and learned to love the hills."

At the finish line he spoke of "goose bumps" as the fans cheered him along with local media speaking of 'Vauquelin-mania.'

After six days of racing in the North of France, the Tour heads west Friday with a 197-kilometer run from Saint Malo over rolling hills in Britany, finishing atop the steep climb called the Mur-de-Bretagne.

Tour de France 2025 Stage 6 Results – Top 25

1. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – 4:24:10 (B10)
2. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) – 4:26:54 (B6)
3. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 4:27:01 (B4)
4. Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) – 4:27:31
5. Simon Yates (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:27:34
6. Will Barta (Movistar Team) – 4:27:39
7. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) – 4:28:02
8. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – 4:28:08
9. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:29:37
10. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:29:37
11. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:29:37
12. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:29:37
13. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 4:29:37
14. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – 4:29:37
15. Felix Lipowitz (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe) – 4:29:37
16. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:29:37
17. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) – 4:29:42
18. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 4:29:42
19. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe) – 4:29:42
20. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 4:29:42
21. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 4:29:42
22. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 4:29:42
23. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:29:42
24. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) – 4:29:50
25. Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:29:53

Tour de France 2025 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 6

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – 21:52:34
2. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 21:52:35
3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – 21:53:17
4. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – 21:53:34
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 21:53:48
6. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 21:53:57
7. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 21:54:33
8. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – 21:54:35
9. Felix Lipowitz (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe) – 21:55:06
10. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe) – 21:55:10
11. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 21:55:16
12. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – 21:55:47
13. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 21:56:09
14. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) – 21:56:31
15. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 21:56:32
16. Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 21:56:45
17. Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 21:56:55
18. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 21:57:12
19. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 21:57:43
20. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) – 21:57:43
21. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) – 21:58:04
22. Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) – 21:58:12
23. Guillaume Martin Guyonnet (Groupama-FDJ) – 21:58:21
24. Emanuel Buchmann (Cofidis) – 21:58:43
25. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) – 21:58:44

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