KEY POINTS:
A day spent among the peloton saw New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean slip down the standings after today's sixth stage of the Tour of Britain today.
Dean, of the Garmin Chipotle team finished 43rd, in the 156km stage from Darlington to Newcastle, one spot behind New Zealand Olympics teammate, Greg Henderson, who rides for the Columbia team.
Henderson was 12 seconds behind stage winner Alessandro Petacchi of Italy who clocked three hours, 45 minutes, 09 seconds, while Dean was 28 seconds behind.
Dean dropped four places to 29th on general classification 13 minutes behind tour leader Frenchman Geoffroy Lequatre, of Agritubel, who leads on 21hr 14min 49sec after finishing 13th in today's stage at the same time as Petacchi.
Henderson is 61st overall 25min 07sec behind.
Dean did not feature in any of the three sprints today and fell to fifth in the points classification on 37. Petacchi leads the points standings with 44.
Stage seven beginning tonight (NZT) held around the city of Glasgow, features a crucial stage start with tired legs heading 153km to Drumlanrig Castle and includes the 9.6km category one climb of the Mennock Pass.
- NZPA
