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Tour de France: Simon Clarke wins stage five as Pogacar makes statement – as it happened

Simon Clarke pulled off a stunning stage win from the breakaway while Tadej Pogacar struck an ominous blow in the GC race

  • 6 Jul 2022 Top 10 GC after stage five
  • 6 Jul 2022 Simon Clarke (Israel–Premier Tech) wins stage five!
  • 6 Jul 2022 Big crash for Caleb Ewan … and Roglic in there
  • 6 Jul 2022 We're racing on Tour de France stage five!
  • 6 Jul 2022 Preamble

Primoz Roglic after crashing.

That will be all for today. The cobbles certainly delivered extra nervousness in the peloton and extra excitement for Tour de France fans everywhere – although the most significant moments of the race occurred off the cobbled sectors.

The apparently fearless Tadej Pogacar has taken a stranglehold on the general classification following another exceptional performance, in which he rode more like a Classics strong-man than a multiple grand tour winner. Simon Clarke of Israel-Premier Tech, meanwhile, produced a stunning stage win with a combination of sheer hard work in the breakaway and a bit of tactical cunning in the “final”.

Daniel Harris has tennis action from Wimbledon for you, right here. Bye for now.

Sounds ... painful?

Roglič PUT HIS OWN SHOULDER back in. — Ned Boulting 🇫🇷 🚲 (@nedboulting) July 6, 2022

Or did he? (Put his own shoulder back in, that is.)

Primož Roglič confirms he dislocated his shoulder in that crash and the team had to pop it back in. He's set to continue. #TDF2022 — Aindriú O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) July 6, 2022

Read Jeremy Whittle’s stage five report from Arenberg:

Luke Rowe speaks to ITV: “It was a chaotic day ... I think for us, maybe we exposed ourselves a little bit early ... It was just crash after crash after crash ... we were in a sticky situation at one point and by the sounds of it, we owe Wout van Aert a beer.

“A lot of the winning moves in these [cobbled] races happen on the tarmac, on the asphalt. You talk about the cobbles and it’s just a fight for position to go into them. Once you’re there it’s hard to move up and you don’t lose too much ground either ... it’s fighting for pinch points going into the front of the peloton towards them sections.”

Luke Rowe talked us through the race as he saw it. #TDF2022 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/ef4lFXmFOy — ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 6, 2022

It’s being reported that Roglic has dislocated his shoulder. What a terrible day it’s been for Jumbo-Visma.

A couple of interesting points being raised in the discussions on Eurosport: One, Jumbo-Visma’s issues highlighted the problem of having two GC leaders, as they didn’t seem sure what to do or who to help when problems arrived.

Secondly, they are questioning why Bettiol was pulling on the front of the peloton on the cobbles when there were two EF-Education Easypost riders in the breakway.

Top 10 GC after stage five

1) Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma): 16 hr 17’ 22” 2) Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) +13” 3) Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) +14” 4) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +19” 5) Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) +25” 6) Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) +36” 7) Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 8) Adam Yates (Ineos) +48” 9) Tom Pidcock (Ineos) +49” 10) Geraint Thomas (Ineos) +50”

Van der Hoorn , beaten by an inch or so, has a chat with Bernie Eisel on Eurosport, who asks how he is feeling: “Shit. Really shit. So close. I almost won a Tour stage. Yeah, disappointment.

“I had this plan to go in the break here, I did a full recon, also at the start, I knew there was a narrowing after 1km ... we had a high speed constantly all day. The bunch was more busy with getting their main guys in the front, then chasing back the break ... I knew there was a chance today and we did really good teamwork with the guys in front. Maybe Simon was faster, I just made small mistakes, and then it’s gone.”

He looks devastated and you can understand why. No doubt he will have more chances in this race, but perhaps nothing quite that good.

Today’s winner, Simon Clarke, speaks: “After the winter when I had when I had no team, to have Israel-Premier Tech ring me up, to give me that chance ... it gives you a reality check to make the most of every opportunity [when you don’t have a contract].

“You’ve seen in every race [this season], I’ve come out swinging, and trying to make the most of every opportunity. The stages I’ve won in the Vuelta were all in the first week, in these first stages, so I thought, maybe today’s the day.

“I still can’t believe I got it on the line there ... I was cramping in both legs. I lined up the biggest [bike] throw I could possibly do, and hoped it was enough. Honestly, I need to watch the replay, I still don’t quite believe it.

“I moved to Europe when I was 16, and I’m 36 on the second rest day, so it’s been 20 years, and today a dream came true.”

He describes his thinking in the final kilometre: “Even when Powless attacking, you’ve got to sit back, and pray the other guys panic before you do. I gave Edvald a bit of space, to let him get the jump on me, and he took the bait, and I really had to chase him hard ...

“Hello to everyone in Australia - thanks for all the support - and I hope I did you proud tonight.”

Brilliant stuff and interesting insight on how he raced the final kilometre, too. Clarke has also won two Vuelta stages, the mountains classification at the Vuelta, and a TTT stage at both the Tour and the Giro. That will surely be the most special win of them all?

Has Pogacar got this wrapped up, barring mishaps?

GC contenders dropping like cabinet ministers. — Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) July 6, 2022

That was some ride by all the six men in the initial breakaway. And for Simon Clarke, who was without a contract a few months ago, it’s a quite amazing achievement. The drama of the final kilometre was hard to beat, when it looked like Powless has it sewn up, before Boasson Hagen looked odds on to win ... Van der Hoorn was then in the box seat but Clarke managed to stay on his wheel, and now he has his first stage win at the Tour de France! Superb.

Stage five, top three:

Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) 3hr 13’ 15” Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux) +0” Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) +2sec

Simon Clarke (Israel–Premier Tech) wins stage five!

Insane finish. Powless goes early, with a dash for the finish from 1km to go. He is overhauled by Boasson Hagen with around 400m remaining, who in turn fades before the line. Van der Hoorn and Clarke come past the Norwegian, and Van der Hoorn looks to have won it, but Clarke just pips him on the line after managing to draft behind him.

The 35-year-old veteran throws his bike for the line and he wins it by a couple of inches! The result is confirmed in a photo finish. Amazing.

1km to go: Powless attacks early! No one follows! He looks like it may have this in the bag!

1.5km to go: Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) was one of today’s casualties.

Australian rider Jack Haig.

4km to go: Magnus Cort is dropped on the final cobbled sector! I think Gougeard has dropped out of the lead group, too, which leaves Powless, Boasson Hagen, Van der Hoorn and Clarke. Four riders who are going to fight it out for the stage win.

6km to go: It’s tricky to work out exactly who is where with all the different groups on the road ... but the headline is that Pogacar is set to take an iron grip on the GC battle, a bit like Nibali in 2014. He has not been afraid to take a few risks and it looks like it’s going to pay off.

9km to go: I think the six riders up front are going to make it. The last thing they want is a cyclist with a sprint like Stuyven coming back. So they are working doubly hard to give themselves a chance of a stage win.

As for the GC, well, it’s fair to say that the race organiser’s wish to inject into excitement into the first week has been granted.

Roglic, I should point out, appears to be on his own and three minutes down, according to the letour.fr website.

10km to go: There are at least six different groups on the road. This is all over the place. The breakaway’s lead has increased again, to around 46”.

12km remaining: Is Primoz Roglic’s GC race over already? Hard to see him making up three minutes or so on Pogacar. And he made end up losing more than that.

Roglic after his crash.

15km to go: Cort powers on at the front. “Pogacar is really putting his authority on this race,” observes Sean Kelly. The Jumbo-Visma riders are pictured working together and trying to get Roglic back in touch with the main group.

16km to go: A Lotto Soudal rider loses it on a corner and veers into the crowd. Roglic is standing to lose nearly three minutes to Pogacar at the moment, if it stays the same.

18km to go: Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) veers off to the side of a cobbled lane just before a right-hand bend. He stays upright ... Meanwhile Stuyven and Pogacar have now joining forces to and pull back the escape group. If Stuyven is there at the end in a sprint finish between a small group, he’d have to fancy his chances.

20km to go: Pogacar, who looks fearsomely strong as usual, is now taking it up for the chasing group. He seems to be without teammates but that never bothers him. He is driving the pace because he sees a chance to put some time into his GC rivals.

However, the six-man break are not hanging around, they are working exceptionally well together and holding the gap at just over a minute.

22km to go: There are now three cobbled sectors remaining for the breakaway riders: Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes à Sars-et-Rosières, Bousignies à Millonfosse and the d’Hasnon à Wallers.

As it stands, Pogacar may be going into the yellow jersey. It’s been a terrible day for Jumbo-Visma if it stays like this, as they will lose the jersey and their GC guys will lose time, too.

25km to go: The breakaway riders aren’t giving up on this. They are riding “through and off”, taking turns to lead the way and trying to work together as effectively as possible to try and make it to the finish.

27km to go: Bettiol is chasing on the front of the peloton for EF Education-Easypost ... despite the fact that they have two riders in the break. That’s a bit of an odd one. Anyway, the gap between the front group and the six-rider break has fallen, very quickly, to 58”.

Big crash for Caleb Ewan … and Roglic in there

30km to go: The breakaway still has 1’45” to play with. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) crashes while in the main bunch! I think another couple of riders went down, too. There was a piece of a barrier that had gone into the road which is what caused the crash. It was difficult to see but the commentators reckoned Primoz Roglic went down, too ...

33km to go: Nils Pollitt (Bora–Hansgrohe), the German national champion and an absolute powerhouse, is pictured riding on the front of the main bunch. Pogacar, who seems to be lacking support from his teammates, is calmly riding along behind him.

Van Aert drops back to his team car. He is out of contention for the stage win today, that’s for sure.

35km to go: A big problem for Jonas Vingegaard, who I think had a mechanical ... it looks like he initially grabbed a bike off a teammate which was too big for him. He then nabbed Kruijswijk’s bike, but almost immediately dropped it when he saw a team car coming up behind.

“That is a panic situation,” says Sean Kelly.

38km to go: Van de Poel is dropped by the main bunch! He said this morning he wasn’t feeling great, although he is not ill, either. Anyway, this seems to be another day when he’s got empty legs. Being a Classics specialist, he was high on the list for many people for a winner today.

Anyway, the gap between peloton and break is now 2’07 ... and as I type it falls to 2’00”. Are those six riders up front running out of steam a little?

39km to go: According to letour.fr, Pidcock of Team Ineos is in the dropped group of riders with O’Connor. According to Eurosport just then, he’s in the main bunch. I don’t know where he is, at this stage.

40km to go: “Little cobbles story for you,” emails Aodhan Toland. “Pedalled out of Arras after watching the start of the 2018 stage to Roubaix. Realised I was in danger of missing the race so put the foot down at the cobbles, when my frame snapped. Hammered on regardless and eventually reached a race sector with everyone starting to pack up...I’d just missed the race. Then a cry of “Clear the road!” went up and two stragglers came through miles off the back. Still counts!”

A classic Tour de France spectating story ... fair play for successfully riding a snapped frame!

41km to go: Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) is among the group of dropped riders: Tom Pidcock, Bauke Mollema, Jack Haig, Mikael Cherel, Franck Bonnamour, Giulio Ciccone, Luke Rowe and Guy Niv are the others.

45km to go: The breakaway is on the fourth sector at d’Auberchicourt à Émerchicourt. In terms of negotiating these cobbled sectors safely, all is well for the GC teams so far, and indeed those teams merely targeting a stage win today.

Some riders choose to take the outside lines on the cobbles, some are choosing to stay in the middle ... it’s dusty but I think the riders would rather that than rain.

47km to go: One key difference between today and the actual Paris-Roubaix, of course, is that the race doesn’t finish on the famous velodrome.

Meanwhile, Florian Sénéchal (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) has a puncture, and it appears that Luke Rowe (Team Ineos) has a problem of some sort, too.

48km to go: As the bunch hits the latest sector of cobbles, riders are forced up on to the grassy banks on each side, such is the narrowing of the road in comparison to the normal roads they generally race on. It’s a warm, dry day and dust is being kicked up by all the tyres and all the vehicles on the road.

50km to go: According to Rob Hatch on Eurosport, Chris Froome and Peter Sagan have both been dropped. That came via race radio.

51km to go: The pace is still very, very hot. The main bunch all negotiated the second cobbled sector without any apparent problems. The break hits the third cobbled sector, at Wasnes-au-Bac à Marcq-en-Ostrevent, which has a difficulty rating of three stars.

53km to go: Asgreen takes it up for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl on the cobbles, splitting off the front of the bunch with a teammate.

54km to go: EF Education Easypost must have started dreaming about the yellow jersey to go with Magnus Cort’s polka-dots, given this current situation. I fancy it’s going to be quite hard for the peloton to reduce this gap.

56km to go: The peloton is fanned out across the road behind the break - which has an advantage of 3’26” at the moment ... and the breakaway hits the second sector of cobbles! The entry to the sector is downhill. That’s potentially going to be a bit spicy in three minutes or so when the bunch gets there ... and the road narrows hugely as the cobbles start.

62km to go: Sector 10 (counting down to 1) is d’Eswars à Paillencourt. The riders will be hitting it shortly.

64km to go: To recap, the riders in the break are:

Neilson Powless and Magnus Cort (EF Education–EasyPost) Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels - KTM) Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert) Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies)

Powless is the best-placed in GC, over a minute down, and as a result he is the virtual leader of the Tour de France at the moment.

65km to go: Following that first cobbled sector there is a long stretch of tarmac road before they hit the second sector. The average speed for today is still hovering over 50kmm/h. Robbie McEwen, on commentary for Eurosport, fancies the break has a good chance of making it now, with a gap of 3’20” and 65km to race. We’ll see.

70km to go: A photo here of the moment that Van Aert was very nearly taken out by a DSM team car:

pic.twitter.com/L9DtSmF4kk — Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) July 6, 2022

74km to go: Cobbles! The first of 11 sectors is Fressain à Villers-au-Tertre. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education Easypost) is riding on the front. A few moments ago Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Team Emirates) had a crash on a corner, just before the cobbles began, but I think they are OK. All the riders appear to have negotiated the first cobbled sector safely ...

Wout Van Aert after crashing

77 km to go : “Re: your request for cobbles anecdotes,” emails Josh Bax. “I was roadside for the Roubaix stage in 2018 on Mons-en-Pévèle, one of the five-star sectors. My overwhelming memory is the heat and the dust that kicked up. The air was thick with dust as everything went past – the riders must struggle with it all in their lungs!

“And I think there were four or five helicopters overhead ... That day will always stay with me – such a pressure cooker and harsh environment. Picture attached of Matthew Hayman during that stage.”

Thanks for getting in touch, Josh.

Matthew Hayman, Tour de France 2018.

80km to go: Action stations at the front of the peloton. The gap to the break is up to 4’00” as the six riders up front push on ... and behind them, in the main bunch, the riders are all over the road as the pace and the nervousness picks up. The cobbles are approaching.

88km to go: Up front, the gap between the six-man break and the peloton is 3’36”. Van Aert is nearly back with the main group, he’s only about 10” behind them now.

91km to go: I didn’t see it on the TV but on Eurosport, Daniel Lloyd says the race commissaires have made it clear to Van Aert and Kruijswijk that they not allowed to use their team car to draft back on to the main bunch ... and the next moment, Van Aert is riding right behind a Team DSM car ... the car driver touches his brakes, and Van Aert nearly collides with the vehicle, but manages to twist his body and bike away from it, and edges past it by a couple of inches! That was a close one ...

95km to go: Wout van Aert, the overall race leader, crashes! He is back on his bike and he looks OK for now. He gets a new bike and is riding back to get in touch with the peloton. It was on a long right-hander exiting a roundabout – from the replays it looked like riders in front of him touched their brakes and Van Aert had nowhere to go.

He has 55” to make up in order to get back to the main peloton. He is with Steven Kruijswijk, who also appeared to go down in that crash. That is not the kind of incident you need if you’re trying to protect the yellow jersey and maybe win a second consecutive stage.

96km to go: Tadej Pogacar had a chat with Bernie Eisel of Eurosport before the stage: “The stress before the cobbles is a bit worrying but I have a good shape, and I think if there is no back luck, it should all be going well. You need to ride a good position, you need to ride the cobbles pretty good, you need to find the best line ... but even on the [normal] road you can get a puncture from a small rock.

“I think it’s a pretty tough challenge [to get the yellow jersey today] ... There’s going to be a race today, and I’m going to participate in it, and I’ll give it my best.”

Spot the gendarmerie.

The peloton rides on stage five.

103km to go: My personal experience of riding cobbles was on the Tour of Flanders sportive in 2019. I found the fast, flat cobbled sections very uncomfortable, while the iconic climbs along the route were fine by comparison. It takes a certain technique to ride quickly and smoothly over flat cobbled sections, and it’s definitely not one that I’ve developed. Thankfully the pros will be taking care of it today.

Email me your cobbles-riding anecdotes, why don’t you?

106km to go: The fastest estimated time schedule on the official Tour de France site is calculated at a 47km/h average speed. The current actual average speed is 51.7km/h. It’s safe to assume the cobbles will take the edge of that pace to a certain extent, however.

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Tour de France 2023 – Jai Hindley soars into yellow with Stage 5 win as Jonas Vingegaard cracks Tadej Pogacar

Felix Lowe

Updated 05/07/2023 at 17:24 GMT

Jai Hindley soloed to Stage 5 glory and the yellow jersey in Laruns as a pulsating day in the Pyrenees saw defending champion Jonas Vingegaard break his big rival Tadej Pogacar on the Col du Marie Blanque. Australian debutant Hindley now leads Vingegaard by 47 seconds in the new-look general classification, with Pogacar down to sixth after losing over a minute.

Stage 5 highlights: Hindley flies into yellow as Vingegaard bludgeons Pogacar

Watch highlights as Pogacar goes solo for win on Stage 6 of Volta a Catalunya

  • Tour de France 2023 Stage 5 recap - Hindley shines as Vingegaard breaks Pogacar
  • Tour de France 2023 standings

picture

'Pretty incredible!' – Hindley after taking yellow with brilliant Stage 5 win

Big battle to make the break

picture

'Jonas went so fast on the climb, I lost my legs' – Pogacar after humbling on Stage 5

Jumbo-Visma coup as UAE wilt under pressure

picture

'This is phenomenal!' - Awesome Vingegaard drops Pogacar on Stage 5

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'He never gives up' – Vingegaard wary of Pogacar recovery despite Stage 5 damage

'The peloton didn't know where we were!' - Pogacar on Volta stage 2 surprise

Pogacar says he 'stuck to' the plan & 'couldn't do much better' after third place at milano-sanremo.

16/03/2024 at 22:20

'The plan failed massively' – Blythe on UAE tactics as Pogacar finishes third at Milano-Sanremo

16/03/2024 at 19:15

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Highlights: 2023 tour de france femmes, stage 5.

Tour de France stage 5 preview - Cobbles set to lay bare the contenders

11 sectors of Roubaix pavé await the peloton on Wednesday

Tour de France stage 5 preview of cobbled sector

Stage 5:  Lille Métropole to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut

Date:  July 6, 2022

Distance:  153.7km

Stage timing:  13:35 - 17:15 CEST

Stage type:  Hilly

This year’s Tour de France has so far seen only early skirmishes in the battle for overall victory but that will change dramatically on Wednesday as the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix offer a chance for the bravest and strongest in the peloton to distance their rivals and eliminate them as a threat.

Everything that has been hidden in the last few days, and only subtly indicated in the opening Copenhagen time trial, will be laid bare on Wednesday afternoon on the dry and dusty cobbled lanes of northern France.

It has been a number of years since we’ve seen the cobbles centre-stage at the Tour de France and some feverently believe that the pavé has no place in a modern Tour de France. However, race director Thierry Gouvenou disagrees and explained why to Cyclingnews .

"Last time there weren't so many gaps, so that's why I'm hoping for a few more this year. That's why I put in some longer sectors,” Gouvenou said. “The accumulation of long sectors can provoke splits, and I hope we'll have the first true time gaps of the Tour at Arenberg on Wednesday.”

The warm and dry conditions expected for Northern France on Wednesday mean we are likely to see a race like 2018 , when John Degenkolb blasted toward an emotional victory. There will be no mud fest and disaster, as in 2014, when the cobbles were wet and Vincenzo Nibali gained enough time to set-up overall victory.

Regardless, we can still be sure that there will again be crashes, time gaps and drama.

The details of the cobbled sectors

Just like at Paris-Roubaix , the 11 sectors of pavé count down as they near the finish, each with a star rating of between two and four. There is a total of 19.4km of the stuff, all coming in the second half of the 157km stage, with Gouvenou cruelly placing the worst and longest sectors to do the most damage.

The first sector comes after 80km and is a taster of what is to come. The cobbles then come far more frequently as racing approaches the 100km mark, with five sectors spread across the next 20km. They are all around 1500m in length, all enough to line out the peloton and cause disaster for someone. There will be no way back from a puncture or crash.

Things then get really serious 30km from the finish, beginning with the 2,800-metre long four-star sector between Erre and Wandignies-Hamage, part of the longer Hornaing-Wandignies sector in Paris-Roubaix.

This is closely followed by the sector from Warlaing to Brillon – 2,400 metres – and another four-star sector, which is also 2,400 metres long, between Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes and Sars-et-Rosières. That triple whammy of long, hard cobbled sectors ends with 17.8km to go.

There will be huge fight for position going into the three sectors and the race scenario is likely to be significantly different when they emerge from them. Any gaps that open up will likely be extended and defended all the way to the finish. For anyone distanced or left behind, there is surely no way back.

The penultimate 1,400m sector between Bousignies and Millonfosse is included to perhaps launch solo attacks for the stage victory, while the final sector, 1,600-metre from Hasnon to Wallers, is the famous Pont Gibus sector that traditionally follows the Trouée d’Arenberg in Paris-Roubaix but this time will be raced in the opposite direction.

From the end of the Pont Gibus sector, just 5.1km remain to the finish positioned at the Arenberg mine, with its famous pit-heads, at the entrance to the Trouée d’Arenberg.

The answers embedded in the cobbles

The 19.4km of cobbles over 11 sectors will surely reveal the true strength of the Jumbo-Visma team and show if Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard can fight for overall victory, all while Wout van Aert chases personal success and the green points jersey. Will Van Aert stay loyal to the team’s highest cause or pursue personal glory by going with the attacks?

The cobbles will also reveal the true hierarchy at Ineos Grenadiers in some way, even if their best climbers, Dani Martínez and Adam Yates, risk losing time to former Classics rider Geraint Thomas.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has appeared unbeatable in the last 24 months but is that really the case if he is alone and isolated? The cobbles could potentially reveal a cruel verdict.

Other GC contenders like Enric Mas (Movistar), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën), Damiano Caruso and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) risk losing even more time.

One thing is sure, the overall GC battle at the 2022 Tour de France will look very different after this stage.

“I think it’s going to be a really hard stage for everyone and a great show on television,” Pogačar suggested, perhaps wishing he was watching on his sofa rather than in the saddle hoping to survive the day unscathed.    

Compounding the GC battle of the Tour is the presence of many of the biggest Classics rider in the world.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), the Trek-Segafredo duo of Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven, Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Kasper Asgreen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) will be among those who will race as if stage 5 is a July Classic – attacking from the front in search of personal glory instead of looking behind and easing up to protect their team leaders. 

The GC contenders will follow them at their peril.

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Stephen Farrand

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters , Shift Active Media , and CyclingWeekly , among other publications.

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Tour de France Stage 5 Preview: Back to the Mountains

Elevation reenters the Tour as a factor as the peloton heads back to the mountains.

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Stage 5 - Pau to Laruns (162.7km) - Wednesday, July 5

After two hard days of hills in the Spanish Basque Country, Stage 5 offers no rest for the weary with the first of two stages in the Pyrenees. We usually don’t see mountains like this at this stage of the Tour, but the Tour’s opening weekend meant a first-week “jaunt” through the mountains that form the border between France and Spain was most feasible.

This is a relatively short stage (162.7km), and it starts rather gently, with about 70km of flat to rolling roads as the race heads southwest out of Pau and toward the intermediate sprint in Lanne-en-Barétous, where we should the Tour’s green jersey contenders do their best to score maximum points behind whomever has managed to escape by this point in the day.

And there’s good reason for him to go on the attack: the first of the day’s three categorized climbs is the hors catégorie Col de Soudet–the first “beyond category” climb of the 2023 Tour de France–and 20 points go to the first rider to its summit. 15.2km in length and with an average gradient of 7.2 percent, it’s the toughest climb the riders have faced so far, but with its summit more than 75km from the finish line in Laruns, the Soudet unlikely to have huge impact on Stage 5 beyond softening everyone’s legs before the finale.

stage 5 tour de france 2023 profile

The final 40km are where this stage really gets interesting, first with the Category 3 Col d'Ichère (4.2km at 7 percent) and then in a big way with the Category 1 Col de Marie Blanque (7.7km at 8.6 percent). The second half of the Marie Blanque is super-steep with pitches in the 12-13 percent range. And with its summit just 18.5km from the finish line, it’s likely to determine the stage winner.

This is a tough stage to call. It’s built in a fashion similar to Stages 1 and 2, with a tough climb (with time bonuses at the summit) relatively close to the finish line. We could see a larger peloton hit the base of the Marie Blanque together, the UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma riding tempo on the lower slopes to set up their leaders for attacks as the climb steepens, with an elite group pulling away to contest the finish in Laruns.

The General Classification is still pretty tight at the top, which means any breakaway given a long enough leash to fight for the stage win will need to contain riders too far down the GC to not pose a serious threat. That doesn’t mean the yellow jersey won’t change hands, but if it does it won’t be someone that UAE Team Emirates or Jumbo-Visma think can win the Tour.

There’s a chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the afternoon could make things interesting on the descent of the Marie Blanque.

Riders to watch

We’ve seen lots of stages for the Tour’s puncheurs, riders who excel on short, steep climbs–climbs like the Col du Marie Blanque. Despite the fact that he’s in the yellow jersey, don’t be surprised if Great Britain’s Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) gets in the mix, alongside his brother Simon (Team Jayco AlUla). Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Spain’s Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Canada’s Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech), and Belgium’s Dylan Teuns (Israel-PremierTech) are all good bets to win a stage like this one.

If a breakaway goes the distance, our pick is American Mateo Jorgenson (Movistar), who finished fourth on a stage with a similar finale in last year’s Tour. The 24-year-old has lost enough time so far that he’s not considered a GC threat. This is the perfect opportunity for him to take his first grand tour stage victory.

And of course, given how eager they’ve been to renew their rivalry, keep an eye on Pogačar and Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). With time bonuses available at the top of the Marie Blanque, we could see them go on the attack as they did at the end of Stages 1 and 2, possibly setting-up someone else to win the stage in the process.

When to Watch

With another explosive finale expected , this is a stage you won’t want to miss. We’ll be tuning in around 10:35 a.m. EDT to see the riders hit the Category 3 Col d'Ichère which serves as a fitting prelude to the Col du Marie Blanque about 10km later. The stage is expected to finish about an hour later.

Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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Tour de France 2024 Route stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint-Vulbas

Saint-Vulbas saw it’s last pro-peloton finish in the 2016 Criterium du Dauphiné. Two riders who retired in 2023 battled it out for the win. Nacer Bouhanni bested Jens Debusschere with a tiny margin, while Sam Bennett sprinted to third place.

The people in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne are more used to large groups of superfit men in licra. The town in the foothills of the Alps saw two Tour de France stage starts in the last decade. On both occassions the riders were up for a day of hardships in the high mountains. The race went to La Toussuirre in 2015 (Romain Bardet win) and to Tignes in 2019 (Egan Bernal win).

The riders leave the Alps this time and head in the opposite direction. Saint-Vulbas is situated on the west bank of the Rhône.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX 5th stage 2024 Tour de France.

Tour de France 2024 stage 5: route, profile, videos

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Tour de France 2024, stage 5: video - source:dailymotion.com

Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard wins the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race

Jonas Hansen Vingegaard - Team Visma - Lease A Bike, the winner of the race, celebrates on the podium with the Trident Trophy after the 59th Tirreno - Adriatico 2024, Stage from San Benedetto del Tronto to San Benedetto del Tronto, Sunday, March 10, 2024 in San Benedetto del Tronto, Tuscany, Italy. (FGianmattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

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Two-time defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard secured overall victory in the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race on Sunday after winning the two big climbing stages.

Showing strong early season form, the Danish rider with the Visma team has now won both races he’s entered in 2024, after also taking the overall title and winning three of the four stages in the Gran Camino in Spain last month.

After winning the sea-to-sea race, Vingegaard raised the giant trophy shaped like Neptune’s three-pronged trident.

“Neptune’s trident is one of the best and most iconic trophies in cycling,” Vingegaard said. “It’s perfect for an ex-fisherman like me.”

It was a strong response to Tadej Pogacar’s dominating win in the Strade Bianche last weekend. Pogacar finished second behind Vingegaard at the Tour the last two years after winning cycling’s biggest race in 2020 and 2021. The pair likely won’t race against each other again until this year’s Tour starts in Florence, Italy, on June 29.

While Pogacar has added the Giro d’Italia to his program for this season, Vingegaard is still centering his season around the Tour.

“I like racing in Italy,” Vingegaard said. “I don’t rule out trying to win the Giro in the future.”

Vingegaard finished 1 minute, 24 seconds ahead of Spanish rider Juan Ayuso and 1:52 ahead of Jai Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion from Australia.

Vingegaard won the fifth and sixth stages.

With American rider Matteo Jorgenson winning the Paris-Nice stage race on Sunday, Visma became the first team to win Paris-Nice and the Tirreno-Adriatico in the same year.

Italian rider Jonathan Milan with Lidl-Trek won the seventh and final Tirreno stage in a sprint finish for his second victory of the race after also taking the fourth leg. Alexander Kristoff and Davide Cimolai finished second and third, respectively.

Richard Carapaz, the Ecuadorean who won the 2019 Giro and gold at the Tokyo Olympics, abandoned the race after a fall.

The next major race is the Milan-San Remo next Saturday, although Vingegaard does not plan to enter the single-day classic.

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  2. Tour de France Stage 5 on board highlights

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  3. Tour de France 2018: Stage 5 finish I NBC Sports

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