PARIS, July 6 -- German rider Marcel Kittel saw his second victory in the 2017 Tour de France in Thursday's sixth stage, and a relaxed Christopher Froome maintained his yellow jersey with a 12-second advantage.
With 11 career stage wins in hand, Kittel needed one more to equal Erik Zabel for the most wins by a German rider in the tournament.
"I'm very proud of my team. They did a great job. They managed to position me well and keep me there. It was very important for the victory," said Kittel.
A three-man group broke away just into the 216km stage, from Vesoul to Troyes, before the trio were caught by the peloton into the final three kilometers.
Different from other riders' choice of staying on the right side, Kittel kicked off his sprint from the left to build a comfortable lead to cross the finish line.
Frenchman Arnaud Demare, the fourth stage winner, finished second. Kittel's compatriot Andre Greipel took the third position.
An emotional Kittel buried his head deep down with tears almost coming out after the triumph.
After snatching the precious 50 sprint points earned from the top finish, Kittel also cut his deficit against Demare to 27 points for the sprinters' green jersey.
"I saw Demare go first and I had to go at the 150 metres. It worked perfectly. I was a little bit behind when my opponents went. I feel good at the moment.
"The green jersey is within reach but the victory is more important, because they also give you a big advantage for the green jersey," commented Kittel.
Yellow jersey owner Froome experienced a relaxing day, while also suffering scary scenario as a massive beach umbrella was blown by a gust of wind onto the road with about 90km remaining, forcing the British and several other riders into an immediate swerve.
Froome admitted that he was actually scared by the incident.
He still bettered his Sky teammate Geraint Thomas by 12 seconds, with Italian Fabio Aru two seconds further adrift.
Aru kept the polkadot king of the mountains jersey with 10 points, just as Simon Yates did on the best young riders honor. Team Sky stood first on overall team standings.
Friday's 213.5km seventh stage will start from Troyes and finish in Nuits-Saint-Georges, with only one fourth-category climb.