Riccardo Ricco won the sixth stage of the Tour de France yesterday while Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen seized the overall leader's yellow jersey.

The Giro d'Italia runner-up, also known as "The Cobra", attacked in the final meters of a category-two climb to Super-Besse to beat Spain's Alejandro Valverde and Australian Cadel Evans, second and third, respectively.

Team Columbia's Kirchen took fifth place to become the first Luxembourg rider since Charly Gaul in 1958 to wear the yellow jersey after German Stefan Schumacher crashed with some 500 meters to go.

The Gerolsteiner rider, who had taken the coveted jersey with victory in Tuesday's time trial, said he hit Kirchen's wheel before falling.

After 195.5 kilometers from Aigurande, through the peaks of the Massif Central, to the ski resort of Super-Besse, he crossed the line with a 32-second deficit and dropped to third in the overall standings 16 seconds behind Kirchen.

Evans lies second, six seconds off the pace.

Among the favorites who lost time in the finale were Italy's Damiano Cunego, 32 seconds off the pace, and Luxembourg's Andy Schleck, 13 seconds further behind.

Broke away

France's Sylvain Chavanel broke away after six kms and was joined by compatriots Freddy Bichot and Benoit Vaugrenard.

The trio opened a five-minute lead over an almost-napping peloton down to 176 men after Frenchman Aurelien Passeron, who collided with a spectator on Wednesday, could not start the stage because of a back injury.

Evans suffered a puncture by the feed zone 80 kms from the finish but was quickly brought by four of his Silence-Lotto teammates towards the front of the bunch led by Schumacher's Gerolsteiner team.

At the start of the ascent of the category-two Col de la Croix Morand, Vaugrenard was dropped from the leading trio and the sprinters, including Britain's Mark Cavendish, started to suffer at the back of the bunch.

As Valverde's Caisse d'Epargne team pushed the pace, the duo's advantage melted and after Chavanel gave up, Bichot was swallowed with eight kms remaining.

Although his attack failed for the second time since the Tour left Brest last Saturday, Chavanel took the polka dot jersey for the best climber.

Garmin-Chipotle's Christian Vande Velde counter attacked and was followed by Italy's Leonardo Piepoli, who was preparing the terrain for Ricco. The tactics worked as Ricco, who had not been supposed to ride the Tour, pinned his rivals to take his first win on the greatest stage race.

Ricco, who was 59th in the overall standings, 4:08 behind Schumacher, before the sixth stage, had said: "There is a one and a half km (climb) in the final ascent that goes up to 10 per cent and that is where I will attack."

The Saunier-Duval team was down to seven men following Passeron's retirement. The team had already lost Spain's Angel Litu Gomez to a crash in the third stage.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 11, 2008)