Cervelo Test Team rider Thor Hushovd of Norway holds up his arms as he wins the sixth stage of the 96th Tour de France cycling race between Gerona and Barcelona, July 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier (SPAIN SPORT CYCLING)

Thor Hushovd of Norway won the sixth stage of the Tour de France on Thursday in a wet day in Barcelona.

I knew I could do something in this stage but it was very hard because of the weather conditions and the slippery roads, Hushovd said, according to Reuters. (See video interview below)

Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, Lance Armstrong of the U.S. and Alberto Contador of Spain were the top three cyclists overall at the end of the stage. Hushovd is in 27th place, 2 minutes, 59 seconds behind Cancellara.

Today's stage along the coast of north eastern Spain was 181.5 km (112.8 mi). It took the riders from Gerone to Barcelona. The main pack, including Hushvod, finished in 4 hours, 21 minutes and 33 seconds.

Tomorrow's stage from Barcelona to the ski resort of Andorre Arcalis will be 224 km (139.2 mi), taking riders into a steep climb into the Pyrenees mountains that will rise up to 2,200 meters (7,218 feet). (See analysis of Stage 7 below)

Leader Cancellara, who holds a split second lead on Armstrong, told the Associated Press he would try to defend his lead but had some doubts.

What do I have to do tomorrow? It's a good question, he said. It's been a beautiful week to be in this yellow jersey. ... I'm going to try to defend it but I don't know how well I can do.

Armstrong was looking ahead.

Tomorrow's stage is not the most important day but it's a big appointment of this Tour, he told Reuters.

The tour, which began on July 4 and ends July 26th, is three weeks long with 21 stages. Riders will cover a total of 3,500 km (2,174.80 miles).

Top Five riders after six stages:

The top five riders at the Tour de France after six stages. (LeTour.fr statistics)

Stage 7 analysis from the official Tour de France website: