ORICA-GreenEDGE has had a much-needed incident free day on the bike for stage six of the Tour de France. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for others, including the yellow jersey of Tony Martin (Etixx-Quickstep), who crashed in the final kilometre of racing.

Three riders formed the break of the day ahead of a relaxed peloton before they were caught late in the 191.5km stage. After a series of blows, the latest the withdrawal of Michael Albasini last night, the Australian outfit welcomed a largely calm day on the bike.

“We needed, and the bunch in general needed, a day like today and they got it,” sport director Matt White said. “Simon Yates got held up by the unfortunate crash in the final there, but was only required to unclip and move around the incident to complete.

“But in general it was a day we needed, it was a day Michael Matthews needed and everyday is a step forward for us in recovery right now.”