Paris: Defending Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas defied his doubters Thursday as Belgian Dylan Teuns won stage six and his breakaway partner Giulio Ciccone snatched the yellow jersey by just a few seconds on an iconic mountain stage. Teuns won the ultra-tough mountain stage to Planche des Belles Filles when he and Ciccone, a relatively unknown duo, crossed the summit finish line as the sole survivors of a mass breakaway. Behind them, Thomas dispelled scepticism over his form.

This was the 2019 Tour's first foray into the mountains. It was a stage that defending champion Thomas, had described as 'the big day'. He was expected to drop time, instead he showed strong form by beating all his main overall title rivals. For Teuns, this was a prestige win. He enters a storied history of the Planche des Belles Filles finish. Meanwhile, Ciccone goes down as the 269th yellow jersey in its 100-year history. "When it came down to the two of us, we stayed calm, we talked about it," said Teuns, hinting that the pair did a deal for a win-win instead of risking it all by not collaborating and getting caught by the big guns. Ciccone was less relaxed about his feat.