In short
| Stage winner | Andrey KASHECHKIN |
 (yellow/white jersey) |
Floyd LANDIS |
 (green/white jersey) |
Tom BOONEN |
 (red polka dotted jersey) |
Christophe LAURENT |
 (blue jersey) |
Luis SANCHEZ |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
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| Overall |
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• Individual time• Individual points • Best climber • Best young • Best team |
Stage by stage
| P | Sunday 5 March | 4.8 km |
| Issy-les-Moulineaux > Issy-les-Moulineaux | ||
| 1 | Monday 6 March | 193 km |
| Villemandeur > Saint-Amand-Montrond | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 7 March | 200 km |
| Cerilly > Belleville | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 8 March | 168.5 km |
| Julienas > Saint-Etienne | ||
| 4 | Thursday 9 March | 193 km |
| Saint-Etienne > Rasteau | ||
| 5 | Friday 10 March | 201.5 km |
| Avignon > Digne-les-Bains | ||
| 6 | Saturday 11 March | 179 km |
| Digne-les-Bains > Cannes | ||
| 7 | Sunday 12 March | 135 km |
| Nice > Nice | ||
| Total | 1274.8 km | |
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The race
Saturday 11 March 2006| stage 6 | Digne-les-Bains > Cannes - 179 km |  |
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Kashechkin « à la Vino »
Andrey Kashechkin made up for the absence of his friend, compatriot and team leader Alexandre Vinokourov when he won the 6th stage of Paris-Nice in Cannes.
The Kazakh broke clear at the top of the Col du Taneron, 20 kilometres from the finish on the Mediterranean seafront to finish on his own and score his best victory to date, emulating « Vino », winner in Cannes two years ago.
Kashechkin resisted the return of Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), who had to be content with second place ahead of fellow-Frenchman Sandy Casar.
Floyd Landis and his Phonak team-mates controlled the race from the back and the American finished in the main pack, 1 :33 behind, to retain his overall leader’s yellow and white jersey on the eve of the finish in Nice.
The film of the stage
Intermediate sprints in the 6th stage
Km 56 – La Garde
Km 144 - Montauroux
Climbs in the 6th stage
Km 41.5 – Col des Leques (2nd category)
Km 59.5 – Col de Luens (2nd category)
Km 64.5 – Col du Mousteiret (3rd category)
Km 86 – Cote du Clos d’Espargon (3rd category)
Km 103 – Col de St Arnoux (3rd category)
Km 115 – Col de Bourigaille (1st category)
Km 122 – Cote de Mons (3rd category)
Km 159 – Col du Tanneron (2nd category)
Weather: Sunny and cool.
135 riders at the start.
Boonen in sight
The start was given at 11:45 to 135 riders. Several skirmishes took place in the beginning, launched notably by Jens Voigt (Team CSC). The German was joined at kilometre 10 by David Navarro (Liberty Seguros) and Rik Verbrugghe (Cofids) for the first lasting break of the day, which topped at 1:30 . The three were rapidly chased and joined at kim 37 by a group of seven riders including points leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Aitor Osa (Libery Seguros), Arkatiz Duran Aroca (Saunier Duval) Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne), Kjell Carlstrom (Liquigas), Samuel Dumoulin and Tomas Vaitkus (both AG2R).
Nineteen in the lead
The peloton returned in the descent of the Cote des Leques and caught five of the escapees, including Boonen (km 52). Only Voigt, Navarro, Osa, Portal and Verbrugghe insisted and were joined by a succession of chasing groups on the next two climbs, the Col de Luens (2nd category, km 59.5) and the Cote du Mousteiret (3rd cat, km 64.5). David Moncoutie was first at the top of both climbs and later on the Col du Clos d’Espargon. On the descent of the Mousteiret (km 67) the leading group comprised 19 riders: Bobby Julich (Team CSC), Jens Voigt, Andrey Kacheshkin, Daniel Navarro and Aitor Osa (Liberty Seguros), Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel), Dmitryi Fofonov (Credit Agricole), Vicente Garcia Acosta, Aitor Perez Arrieta and Nicolas Portal (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears), Sylvain Chavanel, David Moncoutie, Maxime Monfort and Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis), Jurgen Van de Walle (Guick Step-Innergetic), Evgueni Petrov (Lampre-Fondital), Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), Sandy Casar and Francis Mourey (FD Jeux)
Petrov on his own
The group held a maximum lead of 2:30, which went down to 1:40 on the Col de St Arnoux (km 103) shortly after an attempt by Mourey. In the 1st category Col de Bourigaille, Petrov caught Mourey and broke clear. The Russian took a solid lead over a group including Moncoutie, Kashechkin, Casar, Chavanel and Van de Walle. At the top of the Cote de Mons (km 122), the main pack, including race leader Floyd Landis, was 3:50 adrift. In the descent, Petrov had increased his lead to 1:30 over 15 riders all belonging to the original break of 19.
Kashechkin on the Tanneron
On the last climb of the day, the 2nd category Col du Tanneron, as the chasing group was gradually skimmed by a strong effort by Chavanel and Moncoutie, Kashechkin rose on his pedals and attacked one kilometre from the summit. He easily caught and dropped Petrov to tackle the descent towards Cannes on his own. But the bunch, led by Landis Phonak team-mates was closing in and were only 2:25 behind at the summit. In the descent, Chavanel broke in turn to try and catch Kashechkin. The Frenchman narroved the gap to 13 seconds but the Kasakh held solidly to win the 6th stage on his own Chavanel was second, 1:06 behind.
Floyd Landis finished 1:33 adrift in the main pack and retained the overall lead.
The winner interview
Kashechkin : Ambitions for the Tour
Kashechkin : « This is a good Paris-Nice. It was not a main goal in my season, but it allowed me to make two tests of my current form : the prologue, which I finished in second place, and today’s stage. I had no stategy for today but I knew things could be decided in the Tanneron. I felt good, so I attacked. In any case I had no choice because I’m not a sprinter. I had to try my luck on my own and it worked out fine. Paris-Nice is an ideal preparation for my objectives, which are the Ardennes classics, but also the Tour de France, which I will start hoping to bring the yellow jersey back to Kazakhstan.