Tour de France: Healy wins hilly 6th stage, Van der Poel takes yellow jersey from Pogačar

VIRE NORMANDIE, France (AP) — Irish rider Ben Healy won a hilly sixth stage of the Tour de France after a long solo breakaway on Thursday and Mathieu van der Poel took back the yellow jersey from defending champion Tadej Pogačar by one second.

The 24-year-old Healy had won a stage on the Giro d'Italia before, but this was his first victory at cycling's showcase race.

“A stage win in the Tour is just unbelievable, it's what I've worked for,” he said. “I grew up watching the Tour and wishing one day I could just be there. Participating in the Tour is already an achievement and to win a stage is just so so amazing.”

American rider Quinn Simmons finished 2 minutes, 44 seconds behind Healy in second place and Australian Michael Storer was 2:51 back in third spot.

Van der Poel finished eighth, and Pogačar was a little further back in ninth.

Stage 6 took riders over 201.5 kilometers (125 miles) from Bayeux to Vire Normandie, featuring six minor climbs before a sharp uphill finish with a 10% gradient.

The Slovenian star accelerated at the end of the stage but could not quite do enough to stop the yellow jersey going to the 30-year-old Dutchman Van der Poel, who is not considered a race contender.

“I would have loved to have a bit more than one second but I’m happy to have it again,” said Van der Poel, who struggled with the heat. "I'll try my best to recover as good as possible and then we'll see tomorrow, but first I'm going to enjoy the yellow jersey. I will probably only have it for one day.”

Two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard finished 10th, just behind Pogačar, and is fifth overall.

The route favored allrounders and an experienced-looking eight-rider breakaway, including Stage 2 winner Van der Poel and Giro d'Italia champion Simon Yates, pulled away from the yellow jersey group around three-time Tour winner Pogačar.

Riding through rolling countryside they opened up a four-minute lead with 40 kilometers to go, which is when Healy decided to go for the stage win and pulled away from his rivals, who could not follow.

“Today's stage really suited me, I had circled this day from the start,” Healy said. “I knew I needed to get away from the group, I think I timed it well and I caught them by surprise a little bit. Then I knew what I had to do: just put my head down.”

Stage 7 is 197 kilometers long, starting from the port city of Saint-Malo and finishing with a climb up Mûr-de-Bretagne in Britanny's picturesque Côtes-d’Armor department.

“When you see how Tadej is riding," Van der Poel said, “if he attacks tomorrow, or Jonas as well, it will be very difficult not only for me but for the whole bunch to follow on this climb.”

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Belgium's Wout van Aert, left, and Spain's Pablo Castrillo Zapater ride past fields of wheat during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 201.5 kilometers (125.2 miles) with start in Bayeux and finish in Vire Normandy, France, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A boy waves a French flag as the pack rides during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 201.5 kilometers (125.2 miles) with start in Bayeux and finish in Vire Normandy, France, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey celebrates on the podium after the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 201.5 kilometers (125.2 miles) with start in Bayeux and finish in Vire Normandy, France, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey crosses the finish line during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 201.5 kilometers (125.2 miles) with start in Bayeux and finish in Vire Normandy, France, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Ireland's Ben Healy celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 201.5 kilometers (125.2 miles) with start in Bayeux and finish in Vire Normandy, France, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Anti-drone lasers used near the southern border by the U.S. military and Homeland Security to combat cartel drones are safe and shouldn’t necessitate airport closures, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday after a review prompted by airspace closures in Texas earlier this year.

The FAA and Defense Department have signed an agreement outlining the safety precautions that they say will protect travelers anytime these lasers are used, but their statement didn't spell out what those safeguards will be.

The FAA didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking more details about the agreement.

In early February, the FAA closed the airspace around the El Paso airport for several hours after another agency used a counter-drone laser without notifying the aviation safety regulator. That left many travelers scrambling to find new flights. A second, more limited airspace closure later that month followed the military shooting down a drone owned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A demonstration of the lasers conducted last month at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico convinced the FAA that they can be used safely.

"We will continue working with our interagency partners to ensure the National Airspace System remains safe while addressing emerging drone threats,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.

Drones are commonly used along the border by Mexican cartels looking to deliver drugs or surveil officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

The use of armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in the Ukraine and Iran wars highlights the threat.

Lawmakers in Congress said they are glad to see the agencies working together better now. But Democratic senators who raised questions after the anti-drone laser uses in February say they need detailed answers before they can be sure the lasers are safe. The FAA has not yet held a briefing for Congress.

“It is absolutely critical that meaningful interagency collaboration continues — the FAA must be at the table whenever any counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) is deployed that could impact the safety of our national airspace,” said Rep. Rick Larsen, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

In the second incident, the military used the laser to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 26. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.

That led the FAA to close the airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.

The Trump administration has said it was working to halt an incursion by Mexican cartel drones. U.S. Army Brigadier General Matt Ross said that this agreement will allow the use of the most advanced tools to defend the homeland.

“By working hand-in-hand with the FAA and our interagency partners, the Department of War is proving that these cutting-edge capabilities are safe, effective, and ready to protect all air travelers from illicit drone use in the national airspace,” Ross said.

The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for the country's 250th birthday.

Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.

FILE - People stand in line at check-in counters at El Paso International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee,File)