Boonen Wins Chaotic Sprint in Tour de France Sixth Stage

Quick Step rider Tom Boonen pushed through a disorganized pack to take the stage win in today's 200-km Tour de France bicycle race.

Boonen powered out of the pack in the last fifty meters, beating second-place finisher Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team by a bicycle length.

Team Milram sprinter Erik Zabel took third.

British pursuit rider Bradley Wiggens led the race from the second kilometer until the last ten, when the peloton finally swept past him. The pack stayed tight until the last kilometer, with no team willing to take to lead for fear of not being able to hold the pace.

By the time the lead teams tried to organize and lead out, the pack was too jumbled and the race came down to individual effort.

Quick Step tried to form a line to lead Boonen out at two-and-a-half kilometers, but they could not hold the lead. At the final kilometer mark no team had a dominant position.

None of the teams could mount a concerted attack. The T-Mobile riders attempted to form up in the final kilometer-and-a-half, but were engulfed by the surging pack

With half a kilometer left, Boonen broke free down the right side of the pack, pushed himself to the lead, and won the final sprint on sheer will.

The Tour moves to the Alps tomorrow, with the first of the pure mountain stages.

Tom Boonen, Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel sprint towards the finish line. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)	Team Astana riders Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana/Kaz) (L) and Andreas Kloden rode despite sever injuries sustained in a crashes. Vinokourov rode with stitches in both knees and his right elbow. Kloden was diagnosed with a hairline fracture of his coccyx. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) rides during his breakaway in the sixth stage of the 94th Tour de France cycling race between Semur-en-Auxois and Bourg-en-Bresse. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)	Fabian Cancellara (CSC) finished well enough to retain the yellow jersey. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

Tour de France Stage Six Result and Standings