Boonen's kick worth Tour stage win

BOURG-EN-BRESSE, France, July 13 (UPI) -- Tom Boonen finished first in a sprint to the finish Friday, winning the 125-mile Tour de France sixth stage, and Fabian Cancellara held onto his overall lead.

Cancellara crossed the finish line 67th Friday but was given the same time as Boonen and so retained his 33-second overall lead over Andreas Kloden. Filippo Pozzato is in third overall, 35 seconds behind Cancellara.

Boonen, who last won a Tour de France stage in 2005, took Friday's race from Semur-en-Auxois to Bourg-en-Bresse in 5 hours, 20 minutes and 59 seconds.

Some 15 riders were in contention to win the stage as it entered its final 1,000 yards but Boonen edged ahead, beating runner-up Oscar Freire by about a bicycle length. Erik Zabel was third.

The Tour de France, which includes a prologue and 20 stages, next moves into the Alps. Saturday's stage has three major climbs and covers 123.5 miles from Bourg-en-Bresse to Le Grand-Bornand.

The Tour de France is to conclude July 29 in Paris.