Tour de France speeds past massive field fire as Chris Froome loses time in chase for Yellow Jersey and Dan Martin wins stage six

Birmingham-born Martin, who represents Ireland, won a thrilling finale at Mur-de-Bretagne as the competition got hot at the Tour

Alex Terrell

Published: 19:11, 12 Jul 2018
Updated: 16:55, 13 Jul 2018

RIDERS had to dodge smoke from a massive fire as the Tour de France ramped up the heat.

Birmingham-born Irishman Dan Martin won stage six, as Chris Froome dropped time in Brittany.

Tour de France riders cruised past a massive fire as bails of hay were set alight in BrittanyCredit: Reuters

The peloton roared past but luckily the wind was blowing the smoke away from themCredit: Reuters

The Mavic neutral service car drives past the fire as the world's biggest bike race rolls pastCredit: Reuters

Froome will be sweating after losing 5sec to Greg Van Avermaet in the Yellow Jersey, as the defending champ looked a little off the pace on the steep final ascent.

And after Martin thundered up the Mur-de-Bretagne he half-jokingly admitted he was thinking of wife Jessica and their unborn twins, as he avenged his second-place finish on the same hill in 2015.

He said: "To be honest my first thought is that I hope my wife hasn't gone into labour.

"It's a great feeling to get a win again so many second places at the Tour.

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Dan Martin clinched victory at Mur-de-Bretagne in Brittany — Dan Martin clinched stage victory at Mur-de-Bretagne in BrittanyCredit: AFP

Chris Froome lost five seconds on general classification to the Yellow Jersey on stage six of the Tour de FranceCredit: EPA

Defending Tour champ Chris Froome lost a small amount of time in the final shakedown on the club at Mur-de-BretagneCredit: AFP

Tom Dumoulin lost 52sec on the day after picking up a flat tyre just three miles from the end of the stageCredit: EPA

Team Sky's Chris Froome narrowly avoids crash during stage two of The Tour de France 2018

"I was a bit nervous because of the headwind, saw everyone was on the limit, no team-mates left so thought I'd have a try.

"The legs were just there all the time, maybe it was adrenalin or what, I felt good yesterday, but that was a good sign for today. I was relaxed and looking forward to having a crack.

"The last time I got second here, today I just attacked as hard as I could, it makes this Tour de France a success for us already and anything else is a bonus."

Froome's major rival Tom Dumoulin was the big loser on the day as he picked up a flat tyre with 3 miles to go in Brittany and the pair are separated by a single second in 14th and 15th with Froome 1min 2sec down on Van Avermaet in Yellow.