CHATEAUROUX, France — Mark Cavendish claimed the sixth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint on Thursday, taking his impressive career tally to 32 stage wins at cycling’s biggest race.

Cavendish, the best sprinter in the race history, is second on the all-time list for the most stage wins behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx on 34.

It was Cavendish’s second stage win this year after the 36-year-old veteran took Stage 4 on Tuesday.

Cavendish was led out in the final stretch by his Deceuninck-Quick Step teammates and edged Jasper Philipsen and Nacer Bouhanni.

Mathieu van der Poel kept the race leader’s yellow jersey with an eight-second lead over defending champion Tadej Pogacar.

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