Stage 5 of Tour de France unfolded with many surprises. Israel-Premier Tech’s rider Simon Clarke was crowned the stage win. The cobbles stage underwent on Wednesday, 6th July. Wout Van Aert who won stage 4, crashed in the early stages.
Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma suffered from a mechanical fault in his bicycle. Primož Roglič also lost all hopes to take the win. It was not the day for Jumbo-Visma. Van Aert did manage to save his yellow jersey.
After Van Aert got alerted of the misfortune of Roglič and Vingegaard, he cautiously carried out his attack on the 9th sector alongside Jasper Stuyven of Trek-Segafredo. But they were not able to catch up with the breakaway.
Roglič slowly caught up with the group until he crashed after crossing the seventh sector. It is speculated that he dislocated his shoulder. Primož Roglič was not the only one to suffer on stage 5. AG2R Citroën’s rider Ben O’Connor encountered a puncture on just the second sector and lost slightly more than three minutes. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) and Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) crashed out alongside Ben O’Connor.
Amidst all the chaos, a group of 6 riders formed, now aimed to win the stage. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) tried his best to spring an attack on Simon Clarke with just one kilometer to go, but Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) overpowered Neilson. Clarke did not cave in and sprinted his way to victory.
Later on, A Happy Clarke said:
After the winter I had when I had no team, to then have Israel ring me up and say we’ll give you that chance, it just gives you the reality check to make the most of every opportunity
He gleefully added:
I still can’t believe I got it on the line. Taco was well ahead of me with less than 50 m to go, both legs were camping, and I just lined up the biggest throw I could possibly do and prayed it was enough. I need to watch the replay – I still don’t quite believe it
How It Happened
Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) made the first breakaway on the most awaited race of the Tour. Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) and Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) accompanied Hoorn on his breakaway.
At least 95 km were still left of the race, but the tension was soaring high. Van Aert crashed, but he got back in the race and tried to close in on the gap. Everyone was looking to make their way to the win.
In the end, Rogilic was left behind as Vingegaard closed the gap to 13 seconds, saving the day. Powless was leading with 900 meters left, but Boasson Hagen crossed him with just 400 meters left, but he was overpowered by Van der Hoorn and Clarke.
Van der Hoorn inched closer to the finishing line, but Clarke seized the win.
Results
| POS | RIDER | TEAM | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Clarke | Israel-Premier Tech | 03:13:35 |
| 2 | Taco van der Hoorn | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | + 00 |
| 3 | Edvald Boasson-Hagen | Total Energies | + 02 |
| 4 | Neilson Powless | EF Education-EasyPost | + 04 |
| 5 | Magnus Cort | EF Education-EasyPost | + 30 |
| 6 | Jasper Stuyven | Trek-Segafredo | + 51 |
| 7 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates | + 51 |
| 8 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 01:04 |
| 9 | Fabio Jakobsen | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | + 01:04 |
| 10 | Luca Mozzato | B&B Hotels-KTM | + 01:04 |
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Featured Image Via YouTube/ EF International Language Campuses
