​PAU, France (AP) — Olav Kooij of the Netherlands sprinted to victory on the fifth stage of the Tour de France, held on a relatively gentle day compared with the brutal triage of recent days. The Dutch rider surged to the front with strong backing from his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates, outdistancing German rider Max Kanter and Belgian Tim Merlier in a close dash to the line. The trio crossed the finish in just under three and a half hours.
Torstein Traeen, riding for Uno-X Mobility, crossed the finish 14 seconds after Kooij to complete a large peloton that included defending champion Tadej Pogacar and notable rival Jonas Vingegaard. Traeen finished several seconds ahead of both Pogacar and Vingegaard, who trailed him by roughly eight minutes in the overall standings. Traeen first donned the yellow jersey on Stage 4, but he is not considered a realistic general classification contender at this point in the race.
After a grueling sequence of events earlier in the week—a demanding team time trial, an early mountain assault, wildfires, and temperatures that reached 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit)—riders welcomed Wednesday’s flatter fifth stage. The 158.3-kilometer route from Lannemezan to Pau in southwestern France was tailor-made for sprinters, offering a relatively safe opportunity for a high-speed finish.
The stage’s design meant Traeen’s Uno-X Mobility squad did not have to chase down breakaway attempts that might threaten his leadership, and it allowed Pogacar and Vingegaard to conserve energy for the days ahead. Although a breakaway did form, it never gained enough traction to seriously threaten the general classification, with French rider Baptiste Veistroffer breaking away early but ultimately being reeled in by the peloton with about 13 kilometers to go.
Stage 6, scheduled to cover 186.2 kilometers, promises a tougher test. The route starts with two moderate climbs before reaching Col d’Aspin, a Category 1 climb that ranks as one of the Tour’s second-hardest ascents. It then features a demanding 17.1-kilometer ascent up Col du Tourmalet, a legendary Pyrenean pass. The stage concludes with another climb, an 18.7-kilometer Category 2 ascent to Gavarnie-Gèdre, which sets the scene for a potentially dramatic finish.
Tourmalet stands out as one of the most iconic climbs in the race, classified Hors Catégorie (HC), indicating its exceptional difficulty. With the profile set to favor climbers, Pogacar and Vingegaard could engage in another tactical duel, particularly given Pogacar’s aggressive proclivity on big climbs and Vingegaard’s effort to respond. Last year, Pogacar demonstrated his climbing prowess with a dominant Tour victory, while Vingegaard found himself unable to keep pace on the steep terrain.
As the race moves into the Pyrenees, anticipation builds for a possible shift in the lead. Traeen’s yellow jersey is not guaranteed to last, and the next stages could reshape the general classification as climbers and all-round riders press their cases for supremacy in Paris. The Tour’s narrative continues to unfold, with sprinters like Kooij celebrating a well-earned day of relief, while the mountains loom as the ultimate test of endurance and strategy.