Mark Cavendish takes historic third win on stage six

Cavendish, of Dimension Data for Qhubeka, powered clear of Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) in a chaotic finale to the 190-kilometre stage from Arpajon-sur-Cere to secure a memorable hat-trick of wins in the opening week of the race – leapfrogging French legend Bernard Hinault with a career tally of 29 wins on the Tour.

Only Belgian superstar Eddy Merckx – like Hinault, a five-time winner of the Tour – has won more stages (34) on the world's greatest bike race.

Cavendish also jumped above Slovakia’s Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) in the battle for the green jersey after the world champion could only finish the stage in sixth place – his lowest in bunch sprints so far in the 103rd edition of the Grande Boucle.

A brilliant day for British sprinters saw youngster Dan McClay – making his Tour debut for French wildcard team Fortuneo-Vital Concept – take third place just behind Kittel. Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Frenchman Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) completed the top five.

"Oh my God – that was terrifying. That was like the old days of wheel-surfing. It was just carnage in the final," said an emotional Cavendish.

"We were a little too far back, Bernie [Eisel] and I, going into that. Guys were coming left and right. I wanted Kittel’s wheel. I was fighting and fighting for Kittel’s wheel. Etixx weren’t that organised but I knew that they would get it on the final long, fast run-in. I knew it would be the right thing to go early.

"Because it was slightly downhill, I put on a bigger gear again and I just went. Actually, I maxed out – I should have put a bigger gear on. I kept going to the line, I really wanted it. I felt Kittel coming up on my side again but I just did what he’s done to me over the last three years and just held him at it. I’m very happy with that."

Having famously failed to beat Kittel in a head-to-head sprint prior to this year’s Tour, Cavendish has now got the better of the German on three occasions – although Kittel struck back on Tuesday with victory in stage four at Limoges.

"I tried everything but I couldn’t hold him off – that’s life," said Kittel, who echoed Cavendish in describing the finale as "pure chaos".

On a sweltering day in southern France, overnight race leader Greg Van Avermaet (BMV) finished safely in the pack to retain his yellow jersey ahead of the looming Pyrenees. The Belgian leads France’s Julian Alaphilippe – the white jersey at Etixx-QuickStep – by 5:11 with Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in third place two seconds back.

Defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) lies in fifth place alongside his big rival Nairo Quintana (Movistar) ahead of three back-to-back days in the Pyrenees.

Break: Two riders – Japan’s Yukiya Arashiro (Lampre-Merida) and Czech Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) – drew the short straw of offering their services as sprint-train bait on a day where the mercury rose above 30 degrees.

Breaking clear shortly after the start in the Cantal, the duo build up a maximum lead of almost six minutes as the race entered the Aveyron after two lower category climbs. Once things settled, the peloton held the gap at around three minutes before the inevitable script played out – not before Sagan and Kittel were denied by Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) and Michael Matthews (Orica-Bike Exchange) in the intermediate sprint at Montbazens.

Turning point: With Coquard coming so close to his maiden win on Tuesday, it was no surprise to see his Direct Energie team take up chase. What was surprising, however, was the urgency – and velocity – with which Thomas Voeckler, Sylvain Chavanel et al undertook the task in hand.

With the leading duo caught with 22 kilometres remaining, Team Sky and BMC both urged the French wildcard team to lower the pace – but to no avail. The upshot was that a fairly fatigued and anxious peloton entered the outskirts of Montauban ahead of what promised to be a fast and technical climax to an otherwise fairly sedate stage.

Finale: It will not have gone unnoticed that Direct Energie – for all their earlier gusto – were pulverised in the final kilometres, with Coquard benefitting from minimal lead-out before fading to ninth place. It was another seriously off-day for German veteran Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) and Australian Matthews, who both once again finished outside the top ten.

The tight final saw a whole cluster of fast men disconnect themselves from the pack and arrive at speed a handful of seconds ahead of the rest of the field. It never looked too much in doubt for Cavendish once the road opened up and the 31-year-old found the right line.

Jumping off Kittel’s wheel, Cavendish surged clear with McClay darting out of his own back wheel. Kittel rallied, but it was not to be. This year, Cavendish really has the better of his younger rival.

The question on everyone’s lips now is whether or not Mark Cavendish can pick up the five stage additional stage wins he now needs to draw level with Merckx’s tally of 34 career wins on the Tour. At this rate – he probably can. Not that he’s too bothered about the record.

“I didn’t really think about that. I’m just thinking about my little brother, he had a little baby girl yesterday. So I’d like to dedicate this to my little niece Darcy who was born yesterday," he said.

While Cavendish will take all the plaudits, his compatriot McClay deserves special mention for his third place – the best result of what has been a solid maiden Tour so far for the 24-year-old from Leicester.

Andre Griepel’s record of winning a stage in every Grand Tour he’s ridden in since 2008 looks under threat after another lacklustre display from the German national champion. Since finishing second behind Cavendish in a photo finish in Angers in stage three, Greipel has not been a factor in the sprints – coming home in 18th and 15th.

Contrary to the unwritten rules of course planning, the Tour arrives in the Pyrenees before the Alps for a second successive year. This initially flattish ride through the foothills is spiced up with the 72nd ascent in Tour history of the revered Col d'Aspin ahead of a finish beside the shimmering waters of Lac de Payolle.

Last year the race passed the artificial lake before scaling the Col du Tourmalet on a day Rafal Majka won in Cauterets. This time round, the Aspin (12km at 6.5%) is followed by a fast, technical descent before the road kicks up and levels out in the final kilometre.