Ferron, a 24-year-old runner from Vienna, imitated his TotalEnergies teammate Alexis Vuillermoz, winner last Monday.

He surprised his five breakaway companions shortly after the red flame of the last kilometer to precede two other Frenchmen, Pierre Rolland and Warren Barguil, by several lengths.

Andrea Bagioli, fourth, paid for his reputation as the fastest rider in the leading group.

The Italian, who had reacted for the first time to a start from Geoffrey Bouchard on the last climb, abstained on the start from Ferron, launched towards the second victory of his career after a stage of the Tour of Rwanda 2021.

"It's exceptional, you have to savor these moments because, in a career, there are not many of them", appreciated the young Frenchman whose behavior was praised by Barguil, who explained the tactical data in the final of this rugged stage of 196.5 kilometers.

The joy of Frenchman Valentin Ferron, winner of the 6th stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, on June 10, 2022 in Gap Marco BERTORELLO AFP

"There are several who skipped stints," said the 2019 French champion. "So I wasn't going to go after those who collaborated well. I already made two breakaways at Tirreno-Adriatico with him (Ferron), I know he doesn't count his pedal strokes."

Two Alpine giants to cross

"He maneuvered very well", confirmed Rolland, present in the breakaway to consolidate his best climber's polka dot jersey before securing second place in the stage, which finished at nearly 45 km/h on average: " After 200 terminals, in a small group, I have a small burst of speed."

In the peloton, the pursuit was led sometimes by the sprinter teams (BikeExchange for Groenewegen, UAE for Molano) and, at a moderate pace, by the Jumbo team in the yellow jersey, the Belgian champion Wout van Aert.

But the breakaway managed the gap wonderfully, which peaked at four and a half minutes and was still two minutes away with 10 kilometers from the finish.

"We have worked a lot since the beginning of the week," said van Aert about the tactics followed by his team.

The yellow jersey declared himself "very happy" with this sunny stage, which was deprived before the departure of the Spanish hopeful Juan Ayuso (sick) then during the race of the Pole Michal Kwiatkowski, due to pain in one knee.

The yellow jersey, Belgian Wout van Aert (c), during the 6th stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, June 10, 2022 between Rives and Gap Marco BERTORELLO AFP

"Tomorrow (Saturday) will be completely different," van Aert recalled.

The 7th stage, 134.8 kilometers long, presents a partial copy of the route of July 14 in the next Tour de France, with the big difference being the final ascent (Vaujany rather than L'Alpe d'Huez).

Before the climb to Vaujany (5.7 km at 7.2%), the race tackles the climbs of Galibier, the highest point of the event (2642 m), then Croix-de-Fer, another alpine giant.

© 2022 AFP