Gerrans Defends Yellow Jersey on 6th Stage of Tour

Australian veteran Simon Gerrans defends the yellow jersey as riders set off on Thursday's sixth stage of the Tour de France, a flat route that will favor sprinters like Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan.

Cavendish shook off illness and a drop in form to earn his 24th career Tour stage win on Wednesday and close the gap on archrival Sagan in the contest for the top sprinter's green jersey.

Gerrans kept the yellow jersey by avoiding Wednesday's two crashes, and he may look to clinch his second stage win of the race so far on the 176.5-kilometer (110-mile) trek from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier.

Belgian rider Jurgen Van den Broeck and Frenchman Maxime Bouet pulled out before the start, leaving 193 in the race.