Report: Sagan wins stage five and Alaphilippe stays in yellow
A total of 176 men on bikes went gallivanting around Alsace and to nobody’s huge surprise, the one dressed in green came first. Read on ...
Stage six: Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles (160.5km)
Preview by William Fotheringham: Short and intense over four brutal climbs culminating with the ascent where Chris Froome won in 2012. The main action will come in the final 20km over the very narrow and steep Col des Chevrères, which hits 18%, and the finish climb which goes to 20%. It’s a typical first key day at the Tour: the time gaps should be a bit less than in other years as we are still in the opening week but the chances are only 10 or a dozen riders will be in with a shout after this one. Local boy Thibaut Pinot might be the best bet to win the stage and steal an early march.
That sprint reviewed: Daryl Impey was first to go, opening the sprint for Matteo Trentin, whose wheel Sagan had latched on to. The Slovak came around the outside with about 100 metres to go and was never going to be stopped. “I did my best and it just came,” he tells Eurosport. “Nothing was missing and also everybody needs good luck.”
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.@petosagan wins on the 5th stage! 🌟
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 10, 2019
Peter Sagan triomphe sur la cinquième étape ! 🌟#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/rKs5qneLB1
Stage five top five
1. Peter Sagan
2. Wout van Aert
3. Matteo Trentin
4. Sonny Colbrelli
5. Greg Van Avermaet
Peter Sagan wins! Michael Matthews will feel he made a mess of that one. He found himself on the wrong wheel as the race entered its knockings and paid the price accordingly. Sagan wins his 12th stage of the Tour. He was followed home by Wout van Aert and Matteo Trentin. Chapeau to Van Aert, who is having a dream start to his first Tour. He’s in the white jersey for best young riders and looks a real class act.
Peter Sagan wins the stage!!!
“The jolly green giant has done it again!” roars Rob Hatch on Eurosport.
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500m to go: Bora Hansgrohe have more men at the front than Team Sunweb, who only have one in place to give Michael Matthews a lead-out.
1.7km to go: Costa is caught and we’re going to have a sprint finish.
2km to go: Costa stays in front, but he’s almost certainly going to be caught.
3km to go: Rui Costa continues with his audacious attempt at a smash-and-grab with Bora Hansgrohe and Team Sunweb leading the chase to stop him getting away.
5km to go: Costa’s lead grows to 12 seconds. He hasn’t won a Grand Tour stage since 2013.
6km to go: UAE Team Emirates rider, Rui Costa, attacks off the front of the bunch and opens a gap of eight seconds. The peloton, led by Team Sunweb, doesn’t look too fussed.
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8km to go: Boassen Hagen makes his way back to the front of the bunch.
10km to go: The field approach the end of the descent and it’s flat all the way to the finish from this point on. The specialist sprinters have been left behind in the grupetto and - hats -off - Edvald Boassen Hagen is almost back in touch with the bunch after suffering the rotten luck of a mechanical at the foot of the final climb and being left behind. If he can win this stage after that misfortune, it would be an incredible effort.
12km to go: Julian Alaphilippe is third wheel in the bunch as the riders hurtle down a worryingly narrow road at terrifying speed. Matteo Trentin is just behind him as they motor down the mountain at speeds of over 70 kilometres an hour.
16km to go: Covered by a canopy of tree-tops on a narrow, steep downhill winding through dappled woodland, Team Sunweb continue to ride on the front. Behind them, the main GC contenders are all where they should be.
19km to go: Wanty-Groupe Gobert rider Xander Meurisse is first over the top of the day’s final climb and begins the approach to the technical, lightning fast descent.
20km to go: It’s just over a kilometre to the summit of the day’s final climb and Team Sunweb are forcing a brutal pace at the front of the bunch, which is shelling riders at a rate of knots.
21km to go: Toms Skujins is caught by the bunch, which is being driven up the hill by Team Sunweb. Out the back, Katusha-Alpecin rider Ilnur Zakarin is struggling badly to stay in touch.
An email: “The polka dot jersey is your favorite?” asks Greg Pandise. “I feel like often times the polka dot jersey doesn’t go to the actual best climber of the tour. Honestly, the best climber of the tour ends up being in the yellow most of the time.” A fair point, well made, but it’s just my favourite jersey on an aesthetic level.
23km to go: Tom Skujins’ 15 minutes of fame are about to come an end as his advantage is down to 19 seconds. He hits the foot of the final climb, the Category three Cote Des Cinq Chateux. Back in the bunch, Edvald Boassen Hagan has a mechanical issue, which could scupper his chances of being involved in today’s shake-up.
26km to go: The gap is 43 seconds as Toms Skujins continues to enjoy his moment in the spotlight.
31km to go: Tim Wellens was second over the summit of that last climb and took three points. He’d already guaranteed himself another day in the polka dot jersey, but will do exceptionally well to hold on it by close of play tomorrow. Still, an excellent effort by him today to get in the breakaway and guarantee himself another day in my favourite jersey.
Meanwhile in the Giro Rosa (Women’s Giro d’Italia): “After a stunning attack up the final climb in yesterday’s stage, Annemiek van Vleuten put in another world-beating performance in today’s time trail to give her a comfortable 4min 17sec lead over her nearest GC rival, Kasia Niewiadoma,” writes one reader, who would rather remain anonymous. “Anna van der Breggen rounds off the current GC podium and Elisa Longho Borgini keeps the best Italian rider jersey for another day.”
34km to go: Toms Skujins crests the Côte des Trois-Epis with a lead of 1min 04sec over the main bunch.
35km to go: Mads Wurtz Schmidt is swallowed up by the bunch and gets a pat of appreciation/condolence on the backside from one of the Bora Hansgrohe riders riding second wheel.
36km to go: Toms Skujins is the sole leader of the stage with over a kilometre to go to the top of the penultimate climb of the day.
36km to go: Trek-Segafredo rider and Latvian national champion Toms Skujins attacks off the front of the breakaway. The gap is 1min 05 to the bunch, who are keeping the hammer down in a bid to shed all the out-and-out sprinters, so they won’t be around to contest the business end of the stage.
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37km to go: Katusha-Alpecin rider Mads Wurtz Schmidt is the first man in the breakaway to be dropped, three kilometres from the top. The gradient is 10% and Toms Skujins is lead the remaining trio. In the polka dot jersey, Tim Wellens is struggling to hang on.
43km to go: The gap from the breakaway to the bunch is 1min 33sec. The men in front are approaching the foot of the day’s second Category Two climb. Dan Martin has just had a mechanical but is back with the bunch and I’ll be back in five minutes.
An email: “I have a question about the King of our Hearts (go on, admit it), Peter Sagan,” writes Dean Taylor. “Over the years he has had incredible consistency in terms of stage podiums. Is it known how many he has had and how that compares historically? Does he have the most stage podiums of any rider? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he did.” I have no idea how many times Sagan has finished in the top three in Grand Tour stages and wouldn’t know where to find out, but there’s almost certainly somebody out there who’ll be able to steer us in the right direction.
53km to go: The gap from the breakaway to the bunch is 1min 52sec and there are two climbs of note to negotiate in the final 30 kilometres.
66km to go: Tim Wellens leads the breakaway over the summit of the mountain to take maximum points. Five of them, to be exact. Here’s what greeted them at the top. It’ll be a while before Andre Greipel, Caleb Ewan and Alexander Kristoff pass it, as they’re among several riders who have been dropped by the bunch.
68km to go: Marcus Burghardt leads the peloton up the mountain, which has a very imposing castle at the top.
“Your post about Burghardt being brought down by a Labrador reminded me of one of my all time favourite cycling and animal related incidents,” writes Richard Whitmill. “A cat found its way onto the track at the Six days of Ghent. The poor little guy almost got squashed by Mark Cavendish but was thankfully rescued by a crowd member.”
News: In the breakaway today, Mads Wurtz Schmidt is auditioning for a new job.
Katusha-Alpecin team to stop at the end of the year, riders were told they're free to sign elsewhere last night, and no renewal for UCI licence applied for reports L'Equipe https://t.co/OYLScNJnx0 (🇫🇷)
— the Inner Ring (@inrng) July 10, 2019
71km to go: Tim Wellens leads the breakaway up the first Category Two climb of this year’s Tour, eager to snaffle the points available at the top to help keep in his polka dot jersey for as long as possible. His three amigos are unlikely to contest the race to the top, if his serene progress to the top of the day’s first climb is any indication.
Julian Alaphilippe: The talk on Eurosport at the moment is about whether or not Julian Alaphilippe and his Deceuninck–Quick-Step teammates will be happy to protect the yellow jersey today or try to take the stage win as well. Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly thinks it depends on how the stage pans out. He reckons that if people start attacking early, Alaphilippe won’t try to contest the stage as trying to close down these attacks will expend too much energy.
But Kelly adds the caveat that if the Frenchman can “get a sniff of the stage win with two kilometres to go” his natural instinct will be to go for it it and he won’t be able to help himself. The gap between the breakaway quartet and the bunch is 2min 18sec and the men in front are on the second classified climb of the day, the category two Cote du Hautkoenigsbourg.
An email: “It’s often overlooked, but the team competition can be just as exciting as the individual quest for glory,” writes David Alderton. “It’s a bit early to say for sure, but this year’s could be an absolute corker with quite the number of on form riders across the teams. Given that, I reckon Ineos, FFJ and Mitchelton-Scott will do superbly.” What? No Astana? No Lotto Soudal? No Jumbo Visma? I haven’t been following cycling closely enough this season to venture a worthwhile opinion, to be honest.
88km to go: The gap is out to 2min 13sec as the riders approach the feed zone. My own Sky Pro Cycling Gatorade bottle is empty, so I’m going to go fill it up as I don’t have support staff to hand me a fresh one. Here, in case you missed it yesterday, is a little insight into what goes into those musettes the cyclists are handed by their soigneurs.
Hats off to Marcus Burghardt The German Bora Hansgrohe rider took a solitary point in today’s intermediate sprint and to celebrate, here is some footage of him being brought down by the world’s dopiest but hardest Labrador 12 years ago. Just look at that front wheel buckle. I wonder if the dog’s still around today? He’d be quite elderly at this stage.
Intermediate sprint result
- 1. Simon Clarke: 20 points
- 2. Mads Würtz Schmidt: 17
- 3. Toms Skujins: 15
- 4. Tim Wellens: 13
- 5. Elia Viviani: 11
- 6. Peter Sagan; 10
- 7. Michael Matthews: 9
- 8. Max Richeze: 8
- 9. Giacomo Nizzolo: 7
- 10. Caleb Ewan: 6
- 11. Thomas De Gendt: 5
- 12. Sonny Colbrelli: 4
- 13. Jan Tratnik: 3
- 14. Daniel Oss: 2
- 15. Marcus Burghardt: 1
94km to go: The gap goes out to 2min 05sec, with the breakaway quartet travelling at 57km per hour, while their chasers are going at a more sedate 55.
99km to go: Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews, both of whom will fancy their chances of winning today’s stage, are currently deep in conversation as they ride along. I don’t know if it’s just me who’s noticed this and I could be wrong, but Sagan has looked just a little bit “off” in the early stages of this year’s Tour judging by his usual ridiculously high standards of consistency.
102km to go: Elia Viviani is best of the rest in the intermediate sprint and is followed over the line by Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews.
103km to go: Uncontested, Simon Clarke sprints away from Tim Wellens, Mads Schmidt Wurtz, Toms Skujins and Simon Clarke to win the intermediate sprint and trouser the 20 points and €1,500 that come as his reward. That’ll go into the team kitty.
106km to go: Just as Valverde is about to rejoin the peloton, he’s forced to stop again and get a replacement bike. He seemed to be having problems with his rear derailleur, which sounds painful.
Today’s intermediate sprint will take place in Heiligenstein, in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France, which is 104 kilometres from the finish line. With 109 kilometres to go, Alejandro Valverde is forced to stop by a puncture. He gets a new wheel and sets off to catch up with the rest of his colleagues. The gap is 1min 36sec between the breakaway and the bunch.
115km to go: The gap from the breakaway to the bunch, where Team Sunweb and Bora Hansgrohe are doing the heavy lifting, is at a very manageable 1min 18sec.
Global Cycling Network: Your reporter has to pull into the ditch, dismount and have a quick comfort break, so here to keep you amused during my short absence, are the GCN to take you behind the scenes at the Tour in the build-up to Saturday’s Grand Depart.
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🇧🇪 @Tim_Wellens finishes on top and ahead of @Tomashuuns at the Côte de Grendelbruch.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 10, 2019
🇧🇪 Tim Wellens passe en tête devant Toms Skujins à la Côte de Grendelbruch.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/WLFYC3EvUt
13okm to go: Having asked his travelling companions nicely, Tim Wellens is allowed to be first over the first of four classified climbs to be negotiated today, the Cat Three Cote de Grendelbruch and takes two of the three King of the Mountains points available. Toms Skujins was second over and took one.
133km to go: The gap between the four-man breakaway and the peloton is 1min 54sec, but Peter Sagan’s Bora Hansgrohe team are at the front of the bunch and keeping the escapees on a tight rein. Remember, Tim Wellens, who is in the breakaway, is wearing the King of the Mountains jersey and will be hoping to hoover up a few more points this afternoon.
139km to go: The race has settled down after a frantic start, which gives me time to check the General Classification. The Australian rider, Simon Clarke, is the highest placed of those in the breakaway. He’s currently 73rd in the standings, 5min 04sec behind the maillot jaune Julian Alaphilippe.
146km to go: Four men escape, while plenty more who will have been ordered to make sure they got in any breakaway today will be resigned to having to face the wrath of angry directeurs sportifs later this evening. Chapeau then, to Messrs Wellens, Schmidt Wurtz, Skujins and Clarke.
153km to go: We finally appear to have our breakaway group. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), Mads Schmidt Wurtz (Katusha Alpecin), Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) and Simon Clarke (EF Education First) make a break for it and are allowed to bolt into the distance.
154km to go: Our intrepid trio continue their escape bid, but are finally caught again. Thomas De Gent has expended plenty of energy in this stage already but is still in the pack.
157km to go: Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Merida) and Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) open a gap of about 10 seconds on the chasing pack.
160km to go: It’s been a frantic first 15 kilometres, particularly at the front of the peloton. Thomas De Gent leads another jailbreak with two co-conspirators, but it doesn’t look like his third attempt to escape will be any more successful than his previous two.
162km to go: Patrick Konrad (Bora Hansgrohe), Nils Politt (Katusha Alpecin), Anthony Perez (Cofidis) and Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), among others, form an eight breakaway but are caught before I can finish identifying them and typing out their names. We’re still waiting for the day’s first successful escape.
167km to go: Wearing the polka dot jersey, Tim Wellens is one of four riders who puts some distance between themselves and the bunch. Aime De Gent and Alex Gougeard are with him.
168km to go: Thomas De Gent makes another escape bid but doesn’t get away. The bunch remains intact, but is mightily strung out towards the front as assorted riders put the hammer down.
169km to go: Unwilling to let the breakaway escape, the peloton reels them in before they can snap the line and escape.
171km to go: The race has yet to settle and our seven breakaway riders have just been joined by an eighth, while four others are still trying to bridge.
174km to go: Seven riders have escaped and three others are trying to bridge the gap from the peloton.
They’re on the move: The riders have set off from Saint-Dié-des-Vosges , where they were bid adieu by a huge crowd. Christian Prudhomme has emerged from the sunroof of his red Skoda, waved his yellow flag and racing has begun. Thomas De Gent and six other riders have immediately tried to make a break for it.
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No abandonments so far: With 650.6 kilometres behind the field after four stages, every single one of the 176 riders who started the 106th Tour de France on Saturday is all still racing.
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Mitchelton Scott’s stage four diary
Stage three’s diary was soundtracked by David Gray and today it’s Razorlight. Whoever is in charge of this Aussie team’s social media department needs to have a word with themselves.
Today’s roll-out: The field will get moving out of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges at 12.25pm (BST) before getting the signal to begin racing from race director Christian Prudhomme some 10 minutes or so later.
Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast
He’s certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, but Lance Armstrong’s stage-by-stage analysis on his Tour de France podcast is well worth the time of those prepared to look beyond his well documented past and accept that he might actually know what he’s talking about. Armstrong isn’t afraid to pull punches in his daily chats with his former team-mate George Hincapie and pal JB Hager. It often makes for very interesting listening indeed.
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The Breakaway
Orla Chennaoui was posing the questions as Adam Blythe and Brian Smith picked over the bones of stage four on Eurosport yesterday. It was a show that will not have made for pleasant viewing for Team Jumbo-Visna and their sprinter Dylan Groenewegen, who got quite the savaging.
Stage three review
Elia Viviani sprinted to his maiden Tour de France stage victory, Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey and defending champion Geraint Thomas played down what some have described as the very sloppy loss of five seconds on the previous day.
Stage five: Saint-Die-des-Vosges to Colmar (175.5km)
From William Fotheringham’s stage-by-stage guide: Best described as Vosges-lite, skirting three sides of the massif with two second and two third category climbs to shake up the pack. There is a good chance that an early escape will stay away today as keeping a team chasing will be hard in the tough finale – two climbs in the final 35km – while behind the move the peloton will be whittled down to 30 or 40. A good day for a strong breakaway rider such as Thomas De Gendt or Matej Mohoric, one where the favourites will want to avoid losing time or expending too much energy, with day six in mind.
