Hello and welcome to live coverage of stage six of the Tour de France - a 191.5km rolling ride along the Normandy coast from Abbeville to Le Havre.

Lotto-Soudal have more men on the front now as the gap comes down to three minutes for the three leaders. They're inland at the moment but will be hitting the coast again soon. Then we'll have the intermediate sprint, that third Cat.4 climb then the run into the finish.

One rider we haven't mentioned yet to day is Belgium's Greg van Avermaet - who one Belgian reporter has dubbed Greg Le Havremaet because of his chances of nicking a win today at Le Havre. He'll be in the reckoning, but Sagan looks much stronger at the moment. We shouldn't underestimate someone like Alejandro Valverde on this Caubert-esque finish, either.

Mark Cavendish should not be ruled out today, according to Sean Kelly: "I think Mark's capable of getting up the final climb today - and after missing out yesterday he'll be very motivated. If he does hang in on the climb then he will stand a chance."

Plat du Jour: The heart-shaped Neufchatel cheese is from these parts - a slightly crumbly, soft-rind cow's cheese with mushroomy mould-ripened undertones. Best enjoyed after a hearty fish stew from Dieppe.

Alejandro Valverde has a tear in his shorts revealing a small gash. According to his Movistar directeur sportif he slipped over while/after taking a pee on the side of the road.

This is very much a recovery day for the riders - while it is by no means an easy parcours, the clement weather conditions, plus the addition of a non-threatening break, means many of the injured guys out there can get on top of their ailments. Try saying that to those with broken ribs and cracked collarbones, mind.

The gap is back up to five minutes for the three leaders: Perrig Quémeneur (Europcar), Kenneth Van Bilsen (Cofidis) and Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka).

De Gendt is back with the peloton - he must have stopped off to say hello to friends or something. Really stunning aerial views today - as you can see...

Thomas De Gendt has edged ahead of the peloton in anticipation of the feed zone - he must have carte blanche to pick something up from his team car or something like that, because no one has reacted to his surge ahead.

This is how close that sprint for KOM points at the second climb was...

Teklehaimanot seems to have momentarily disappeared from this break - perhaps he's off chatting to his MTN-Qhubeka team car. The gap is 4:30 for the leaders.

Now the roads are a bit more exposed to the elements the wind has increased a little. The three leaders pass a field of cows, most of which are lying down. But don't worry - it doesn't look like it's going to rain today.

Thomas De Gendt leads the peloton for Lotto-Soudal. The Belgian all-rounder has bandages on his right knee from when he came down yesterday - but he's obviously feeling ok, or at least disguising it well. Lotto-Soudal have been in the wars, with Adam Hansen riding with a dislocated shoulder and cracked collarbone, and Greg Henderson riding with two broken ribs that apparently make it hard for him to breathe. Tough cookies.

The riders are riding on roads along the stunning cliffs that overlook the English Channel - it's quite a spectacular sight, and with the sun out the fans are out in their droves. It's constantly up and down today - with around 13 climbs, including three categorised offerings, ahead of the uphill drag to the finish.

Puncture for the yellow jersey, who needs to have a wheel change. He's got the rainbow jersey there to help nurse him back. Martin and Kwiatkowski won't be too long off the front of the pack.

Kenneth Van Bilsen leads out the sprint for the KOM points and Teklehaimanot has his work cut out to catch him. It looks like the Eritrean just pipped the Belgian for the point over the top - and they have a few words after. Things are getting heated in the break! With those two points in the bag, Teklehaimanot has now joined Joaquim Rodriguez at the top of the polka dot standings.

The gap is down to 4:35 for the three leaders who are already onto the next Cat.4 climb, the Cote de Pourville-sur-Mer.

The opening Cat.4 climb of the Cote de Dieppe went to script: Daniel Teklehaimanot zipped clear to take the solitary point. Can he take two more and seize the polka dot jersey? We'll soon find out.

Speaking to letour.fr, Cannondale-Garmin's directeur sportif Charly Wegelius has tipped John Degenkolb for the win today - "but he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders with a German sponsor and the Germans being so successful but not yet a rider from Giant-Alpecin." Wegelius named his rider Ramunas Navardauskas as a dark horse for the win in Le Havre. "It's not a foregone conclusion we'll have a sprint," he said.

We're approaching the first climb of the day so we can expect a little bit of action soon. After all the drama of the last few days, I'm sure the peloton is quite content to have a quieter day in the sun out there in Normandie.

Daniel Teklehaimanot, 26, became the first Eritrean to ride in the Vuelta in 2012 when he finished 146th overall. He returned to Spain in 2014 when he finished 47th. This July he is one of two Eritreans to ride the Tour alongside team-mate Merhawl Kudus - but by dint of rolling down the time trial ramp in Utrecht before Kudus he became the first Eritrean (and the first black African) to start the Tour de France. Indeed, he was the first of the 198 riders to start this Tour.