NANCY, France -- Lorenzo Bernucci of Italy survived wet conditions Thursday to win the sixth stage of the Tour de France, while six-time defending champion Lance Armstrong remained the leader in the overall classification.

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Numerous riders crashed coming around the slippery last turn, but Bernucci stayed on his bike and finished the trip in 4:12:52. The 123.7-mile stage began in Troyes and ended in Nancy, a town in Northeastern France.

Armstrong stayed with the pack and was also able to avoid any crashes. He picked up his 69th career yellow jersey in the process.

Alexandre Vinokourov finished three seconds behind Bernucci and vaulted into third place in the overall standings. George Hincapie is second overall -- 55 seconds behind Armstrong, his Discovery Channel teammate. Vinokourov trails Armstrong by one minute and two seconds and Jens Voigt is just two ticks behind Vinokourov.

Thursday's stage took place over mostly flat terrain and would have likely ended with a sprint, if not for the series of crashes around the final bend. Christophe Mengin of France was leading before sliding out of control and creating a domino effect of falls. A number of sprinters were involved in the crash, including Robbie McEwen, winner of Wednesday's fifth stage.

Armstrong, however, was unaffected by the pile-up and retained the "maillot jaune."

"Obviously it was a hairy finish," said Armstrong. "When you're stuck behind a crash like that you just have to sort of pick your way through and make it to the finish."

Friday's seventh stage will start in Luneville, France, and come to a completion 142 miles later in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Today's top 10 finishers:

1 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 4.12.52
2 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile Team + 0.03
3 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner + 0.07
4 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Domina Vacanze
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole
6 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo
7 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
8 Egoi Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
9 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Lampre-Caffita
10 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC

Overall srandings after stage 6:

1 Lance Armstrong
2 George Hincapie
3 Alexandre Vinokourov
4 Jens Voigt
5 Bobby Julich
6 Chechu Rubiera
7 Yaroslav Popovych
8 Benjamin Noval
9 Ivan Basso
10 Kurt Arvesen