Denmark's Mads Pedersen defended the green points jersey on Thursday's sixth stage of the Tour de France, a flat parcours that favoured sprinters and set up a bunch finish.

Pedersen, riding for Lidl-Trek, entered the day among the race's most consistent performers. His Stage 4 victory earlier in the week, alongside strong showings from Norway's Torstein Traeen, established him as a central figure in the sprint classification battle.

The stage brought together the Tour's leading fast men, including Belgium's Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck and Eritrea's Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty. Team sprint trains jostled for position in the closing kilometres, with lead-out riders working to deliver their finishers to the line.

The general classification remained largely unchanged after the flat terrain offered little opportunity for overall contenders to gain time. Amaury Sport Organisation officials expect attention to shift toward the mountains in the coming days.

The points classification battle is likely to intensify before the race enters its first serious climbing tests, when sprinters' grip on the green jersey typically weakens.