Tour de France stage 5 LIVE result: Tadej Pogacar takes time from rivals as Simon Clarke wins stage
Re-live all the updates as the peloton took on 11 treacherous cobblestone sectors en route from Lille to Arenberg Port du Hainaut
Tadej Pogacar passed his first Tour de France test with flying colours when he gained time over all his rivals on the cobbled roads in a vintage fifth stage on Wednesday.
The two-time defending champion, who was expected to suffer on the 19km of cobbles peppering the 157-km ride from Lille, finished 51 seconds behind stage winner Simon Clarke of Australia but left the overall contenders behind.
“It was a really good day for me, I didn’t have any bad luck and I felt good on the cobbles,” said Pogacar, who as a professional has never taken part in the Paris-Roubaix cobbled classic. “I could not stay strong until the end but I tried.”
Pogacar jumped away from the group of leading contenders with Belgian Jasper Stuyven and built a lead of almost a minute before running out of gas in the finale. “But for sure it’s a confidence booster. I have good sensations,” he added.
Clarke prevailed in a lung-busting sprint finish to beat Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn and Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, who were second and third, respectively.
Wout van Aert retained the overall lead at the end of a bad day for his Jumbo Visma team, with Primoz Roglic, runner-up in 2020 and one of the pre-race favourites, losing more than two minutes to fellow Slovenian Pogacar after a crash that left him with a dislocated shoulder. It was popped back in by his team staff but Roglic is now already trailing Pogacar by more than two minutes.
Re-live all the action live below.
Tadej Pogacar takes time from Jumbo-Visma rivals on cobbles of chaotic stage 5
I’ll leave you with our report of a wild stage five:
Tadej Pogacar takes time from Jumbo-Visma rivals on cobbles of chaotic stage 5
Australian Simon Clarke won the stage in a sprint finish at the end of a wild day on the treacherous cobblestones of northern France which saw Primoz Roglic crash and lose significant time
Tour de France stage 5
In the end Vingegaard and Van Aert only lost 15 seconds to Pogacar, incredible really considering the mechanical problem Vingegaard suffered – that shows the power of a strong team to help limit the damage. They finished 1min 04sec behind the winner Clarke, as did Geraint Thomas and his Ineos teammates Adam Yates, Tom Pidcock and Dani Martinez.
Roglic, however, finished 2min 59sec down on the stage winner, losing almost two minutes to Pogacar in the GC standings.
Wout van Aert retains yellow jersey
And here’s how the general classification looks after that:
Simon Clarke celebrates victory
Here’s a very worthy winner, Simon Clarke, who earned his first Tour stage win today aged 35:
“After the winter I had, when I had no team, I think you’ve seen all year I’ve come in every race swinging, I just tried to make the most of every opportunity.
“The stages I’ve won in the Vuelta before were all in the first week, so this morning I thought ‘maybe today’s the day’. I can’t believe I got it on the line, Taco was well ahead, I was cramping in both legs, and I just prayed it was enough. I need to watch the replay, I can’t quite believe it.
“I moved to Europe when I was 16, I’m 36 on the second rest day, so 20 years, and it’s a dream come true.”
Tour de France stage 5
Here’s the final kilometre of that crazy stage:
Simon Clarke wins stage 5
Wout van Aert does just enough to stay in the yellow jersey, the only solace on a bruising day for Jumbo-Visma.
Stage 5 top five
1. Simon Clarke 2. Taco van der Hoorn 3. Edvald Boasson Hagen 4. Neilson Powless 5. Magnus Cort
Simon Clarke wins stage 5
In comes Tadej Pogacar, around 50 seconds down on the leaders. Jumbo-Visma are still another minute or so back down the road...
Simon Clarke edges photo finish to win stage 5!
The Australian veteran Clarke does just enough to round Van der Hoorn and edge him on the line! A photo finish will show just how close that was. What a finish. Edvald Boasson Hagen was third.
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