For the first time in this year's Tour de France, Danny Van Poppel felt good when he went into a sprint but today's stage 6 didn't end the way he wanted. A puncture took him out of contention just as he had been brought into position.

After the chaos of yesterday’s cobbles raced in rain and mud, today the general consensus seemed to be one of recuperation. But the misty, damp conditons coupled with the wind made life less than appealing for a peloton craving a day without stress.

A four-man escape orchestrated the action for the 194-kilometer stage six, but its destiny to end in a mass bunch sprint transpired as the quartet was snagged back with just over 12 kilometers to go. The crosswinds in the closing 10 kilomters caused splits in the peloton, but the sprinters and GC hopefuls prevailed.

Over the line André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) claimed the stage six sprint, edging out Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale).

As the combat heated towards the finish Fabian Cancellara and Gregory Rast led Danny van Poppel; the cards were placed perfectly for the 20-year-old to better his fifth and sixth places thus far. However, it was not to be. A flat tire in the closing kilometers ended all hope for a good result; Van Poppel was left thinking only what could have been - for the first time this race he felt he had his good legs back, only to be thwarted by ill-fortune at the worst possible moment.

“This morning I did not feel good, but I had really good sensations at the end," he said. "My legs felt good for the first time this Tour and then I puncture with around three kilometers to go. I have been going deep this Tour and I have been really tired;  I did not think it would be my day again today. It was brilliant to have Rasty and Fabian work for me, so it’s very disappointing to flat.”

Danny van Poppel is riding his second Tour de France, although last year he only completed one week before crashing out. He was the youngest starter last year, and for 2014 he is the baby of the peloton again.

Trek Factory Racing does not have a lead-out train to match the big sprinter teams at the Tour de France, opting instead for Van Poppel to freelance the sprint finales. However, before the frenzied final kilometer plays out he has the luxury of one of the biggest engines in cycling to pilot him into good position. 

“He is quiet, off and on the bike, but on the bike he is more aggressive, but a good aggressive," Cancellara said. "You have to be like this as a sprinter. I can do what I want, go wherever I want, and he is going to follow me around - I can ride over a wall and he is going to stay on my wheel!”

Trek Factory Racing applauded a day free from the bumps and stress of the harsh cobbles yesterday, but the wet roads and high winds made conditions dicey again. Matthew Busche – who crashed three times on Wednesday – hit the tarmac another two times today. He is scraped and bruised, but will fight on.

The overall classification remained the same: Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) continues his lead in yellow, two seconds over teammate Jokob Fuglsang, and a further 44 seconds over Peter Sagan (Cannondale) in third.  Fabian Cancellara continues as the highest GC rider for Trek Factory Racing in fifth (+1'17").