MUR DE BRETAGNE, France - Sometimes the bike is a cyclist's biggest problem.
Tour de France contenders Romain Bardet and Tom Dumoulin lost significant time in the overall standings Thursday after spokes in their wheels snapped near the uphill end of the race's sixth stage. Both title hopefuls were left behind by the rest of the top riders as they increased the pace while hunting for the stage win that finally went to Irish cyclist Daniel Martin.
Dumoulin said he knocked into Bardet near the foot of the second of a pair of 1.25-mile ascents up Mur de Bretagne to the finish line.
"I hit the back wheel of Bardet when there was the movement in the peloton, and I couldn't avoid it," the Dutch rider said. "I needed to change (a) wheel and chase to the finish as hard as possible, but it was very difficult."
Dumoulin and his Sunweb team compounded the mechanical mishap by getting a 20-second penalty when Dumoulin stayed too close to the team car while trying to catch the pack, thereby benefiting from its draft that pulled him along.
"I knew I wouldn't make it back, so it was about limiting the time loss," Dumoulin said. "I'm disappointed of course, I would have liked to be in a better position (in the overall standings), but that's how it is."
Bardet and Dumoulin entered the three-week race among the chosen few riders considered strong enough to challenge four-time champion Chris Froome.
Dumoulin, the time trial world champion and 2017 Giro d'Italia winner, started the stage 44 seconds ahead of Froome but finished just behind him. Froome trails race leader Greg Van Avermaet by 1:02; Dumoulin is one more second behind.
Bardet was already trailing Froome, and after losing 28 seconds is now 1:45 off the leader's pace after he broke his back wheel and had to change bikes with AG2R La Mondiale teammate Tony Gallopin.
"Then I had to chase, and that effort was fatal. It's never good to lose time," said Bardet, who has finished in he top three the past two Tours. "There are a lot of twists on the Tour, and this time luck was not on our side."
Martin took the win for UAE Team Emirates after he broke away on the final half-mile, winning the 112.5-mile leg that started in the western port city of Brest in 4 hours, 13 minutes, 43 seconds.
Martin counterattacked after Richie Porte jumped ahead and nobody immediately tried to reel him in.
"I saw the moment. I had really good legs, and when I went my legs kept coming and coming," Martin said. "I knew if I could get a gap, it would be difficult to close from behind."
Pierre Latour crossed the line second, followed by Alejandro Valverde in third.
Van Avermaet, a BMC support rider for Porte, kept the yellow jersey for a third straight day. Geraint Thomas, Froome's teammate, moved into second place overall - three seconds behind Van Avermaet - after snatching two additional bonuses in an intermediate bonus sprint.
Martin was one of several team leaders, along with former Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali and two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana, who were caught off guard by an attack by Quick-Step midway through the stage during a straightaway that was exposed to crosswinds.
A group of approximately 40 riders, including Froome, opened up a gap of more than a minute, but Martin and the rest hustled back.
This was the first summit finish of this Tour. After the relatively flat first nine days, the race will head south and into the Alps and then the Pyrenees Mountains.
Friday's flat 143.5-miles leg from Fougeres to Chartres is the longest stage of this Tour.