Marcel Kittel won a sprint finish at the Tour de France on Thursday as Chris Froome held on to the yellow jersey.

Kittel finished ahead of Arnaud Demare and Andre Greipel to claim his second stage of the Tour.

‘For sure, I have the green jersey [for the points race contested by sprinters] in my focus,’ said Kittel. ‘You have to get the victories in the sprints and that is what counts.

‘I am very proud of my team – they did a great job. We brought ourselves at the front on the key moment and kept me there. I started from a great position, a bit from behind, to see where I can go and I feel good at the moment.’

Froome finished in the bunch and leads by 12 seconds from Geraint Thomas.

‘These stages don’t come along very often,’ said the defending champion. ‘This was definitely one of the most relaxed days I’ve ever done on the Tour de France. I’ve always dealt with the heat I’d say better than most people. It’s the cold I normally have a problem with.’

Stage six result:

1. Marcel Kittel (Ger/Quick-Step) 5hrs 05mins 34secs
2. Arnaud Demare (Fra/FDJ) ST
3. Andre Greipel (Ger/Lotto)
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha)
5. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra/Cofidis)
6. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/LottoNL)
7. Michael Matthews (Aus/Sunweb)
8. Daniel McLay (GB/Fortuneo)
9. Ruediger Selig (Ger/BORA)
10. John Degenkolb (Ger/Trek)

General classification after stage six:

1. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) 23hrs 44mins 32secs
2. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Sky) +12secs
3. Fabio Aru (Ita/Astana) +14secs
4. Daniel Martin (Ire/Quick-Step) +25secs
5. Richie Porte (Aus/BMC Racing) +39secs
6. Simon Yates (GB/Orica) +43secs
7. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +47secs
8. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek) +52secs
9. Nairo Quintana (Col/Movistar) +54secs
10. Rafal Majka (Pol/Bora) +1min 01secs