Cipollini Regains Lead in Tour With Second Place in Sixth Stage

Mario Cipollini of Italy regained the lead in the Tour de France on Friday by finishing second in the sixth stage, won by Johan Bruyneel of Belgium with record speed.

It was the shortest stage in this year’s Tour, and Bruyneel was timed in 3 hours 11 minutes 50 seconds, an average of 30.7 m.p.h.

That was better than the 30.4 m.p.h. accomplished in 1988 on the shortest stage in Tour de France history, 24 miles from Tarbes to Pau. Friday’s stage, from Evreux to Amiens, was 98 miles.

Bruyneel broke away in the final 12 1/2 miles and won by 13 seconds over Cipollini.

Cipollini gained 12 bonus seconds for his runner-up finish and got another two in an intermediate sprint in overcoming the two-second advantage that Belgium’s Wilfried Nelissen had after Thursday’s fifth stage.

Nelissen and Cipollini have been trading the lead since Sunday’s first stage. Cipollini leads by 12 seconds, with Bruyneel third, 30 seconds behind.

Cipollini almost lost second place to hard-charging Djamolidine Abdoujaparov of Uzbekistan. Cipollini raised his arms early and barely edged his wheel across the line ahead of Abdoujaparov.