During a flat, but punchy 183 km ride from Gap to Privas, Wout Van Aert sprinted to victory in Stage 5 of the Tour de France to secure consecutive stage victories for Team Jumbo-Visma. After the first five stages, Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) moved into the overall lead in the general classification due to a rules infraction by Julian Alaphilippe (DSQ).
Van Aert, who acted as a domestique for Primoz Roglic in Stage 4’s mountain climb at Orcieres-Merlett, won the sprint stage at Privas. Van Aert edged out Holland’s Cees Bol (Sunweb) by a half-wheel at the Stage 5 finish.
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) was the favorite to win Stage 5, but the Stage 3 winner finished in 8th place.
| TOUR de FRANCE STAGE 5 |
- Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 04:21:22
- Cees Bol (Sunweb)
- Sam Bennett (DSQ)
Alaphilippe (DSQ) took the overall lead in the GC after Stage 2. However, the Frenchman lost the lead due to a time penalty. Alaphilippe finished with the peloton in Stage 5 and expected to retain his lead, but was caught off guard during post-race interviews when he learned about the infraction.
Race organizers assessed a 20-second penalty on Alaphilippe over an illegal food break or “unauthorized feeding,” according to the official statement. Apparently, riders can’t have an unofficial feed in the last 20 km of a stage.
“It’s the decision of the jury so I can’t do anything about it,” said Alaphilippe.
Alaphilippe dropped to 16th place. He was also issued a fine of 200 Swiss Francs in addition to the time penalty.
Stage 5: Gap > Privas
The fifth stage of the Tour de France started in Gap in the Haute Alps and continued through the Rhone Valley to Privas.
Wout van Aert held off a final sprint from Cees Bol (Sunweb) and Sam Bennett (DSQ). It was a photo finish with Van Aert winning by a half of a bicycle wheel.
“I launched my sprint from the moment I saw Bol going in front of me,” said Van Aert. “It was quite tight, but I was also on the outside, so I think it was maybe just half a wheel or something, but it was enough.”
Last year, Van Aert crashed midway through the 2019 Tour de France. He suffered some injuries, which took the rest of the summer to heal. He came into this year’s Grand Race in top condition and waited for the opportunity to pounce.
“I knew it was a stage that suited me,” said Van Aert. “I’m just so happy I got the opportunity from the team to go for it. If you have one shot and you can finish it off, it’s even more sweet.”
On Deck: Stage 6 Le Teil > Mont Aigoual
Stage 6 will be a difficult 191 km ride from Le Teil to Mont Aigoual. The final ascent will be a steep Category 1 climb up to the summit of Cole de la Lusette before the course plateaus for the final 15 km. The 12 km climb up Cole de la Lusette has a 7.3% grade.
With another mountain stage on deck for Stage 6, the climbers will be the favorites in this one. Bookies like Primoz Roglic to win Stage 6 at 4/1 odds.
Alaphilippe is also one of the top favorites at 10/1 odds to win at Mont Aigoual.
| GC STANDINGS (THRU STAGE 5) |
- Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 22:28:30
- Primoz Roglic (Jimbo-Visma) +0:03
- Tadej Pgacar (UAE) +0:07
- Guillauame Martin (Cofidis) +0:09
- Egan Bernal (Ineos) +0:13
Alaphilippe lost the yellow jersey during Stage 5 due to the feed penalty. He held a four-second lead over Adam Yates and a seven-second lead over Primo Roglic after Roglic’s mountain summit victory in Stage 4. Alaphilippe is now in 16th place in the GC, 16 second behind Yates after the 20-second penalty.
“I don’t think any rider would want to take the jersey like this,” said Yates.
DraftKings updated its Tour de France futures. Roglic is -106 odds to win the Le Tour, while Egan Bernal is +275 to win back-to-back titles.
Yates, now in first place, saw his odds improve to 22/1 to win Le Tour.