Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway led a sprint to win the rain-splattered sixth stage of the Tour de France and his countryman Thor Hushovd retained the yellow jersey yesterday.

The pack battled both slippery roads and brisk winds over the hilly 226.5-kilometre ride across northwest France into Normandy — the longest stage in the race this year.

Hagen, a sprint specialist with Team Sky, whizzed out of the barreling pack with about 200 metres left and held on, jutting his arms in the air as he crossed the line for his first Tour stage victory.

“I really surprised myself,” Hagen said. “Lots of people say that I’m a talented guy, so it’s nice to show it by winning a stage.”

Matt Goss of Australia was second, and Hushovd third.

Overall, Hushovd retained a one-second lead over Cadel Evans of Australia, while Frank Schleck of Luxembourg was third, four seconds back. Three-time champion Alberto Contador, who lost time in a Stage 1 crash, sat 39th overall, 1:42 behind.

A string of breakaway riders sought to get a leg up but the pack eventually reeled them all in — the last ones getting caught within just the last two kilometers.

Despite the rain, the stage was marked by fewer crashes than a day earlier, when many riders including Contador and Britain’s Bradley Wiggins went down.

Still, it was yet another bad day for the US RadioShack team because American veteran Levi Leipheimer crashed with about 5 kilometres left, and lost time in the title hunt.

A day earlier, RadioShack lost young star Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia from the race in a nasty spill that left him unconscious, bloodied on his head, and suffering from a concussion and broken collarbone.