Ricco claims stage six win

Riccardo Ricco timed his assault to perfection to win the first summit finish in the Tour de France at Super Besse.

Ricco, the Saunier Duval climbing specialist, outfoxed race favourites Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans to win by one second in the sixth stage of the Tour – a 195.5km ride through the mid-mountains of the Massif Central.

The major incident of a difficult final climb was the fall of yellow jersey holder Stefan Schumacher, who collided with a Gerolsteiner team-mate as he closed in on the summit.

Kim Kirchen, whose Columbia team-mate Mark Cavendish won Wednesday’s stage, assumes the maillot jaune, six seconds ahead of race favourite Evans.