Tour de France heads into the Pyrenees as Kooij takes chaotic stage 5 sprint
Dutch debutant Olav Kooij sprinted to victory on stage 5 after a late crash split the peloton, while the overall favourites now brace for the first high-altitude showdown on the Col du Tourmalet.
Stage 5 chaos
A crash with 5.3 kilometres remaining fractured the peloton and disrupted lead-out trains, turning a routine sprint finish into a scramble. Dutch rider Olav Kooij (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) emerged from the reduced front group to win his first Tour de France stage on his race debut, covering the 158.3 km from Lannemezan to Pau ahead of Germany's Max Kanter (XDS Astana) and Belgium's Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step).
After a couple of hard days here already I had to wait to get this first chance and to immediately win is unbelievable. It means quite a lot.
Norway's Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Mobility) retained the yellow jersey despite being caught behind the incident, crossing the line 14 seconds after Kooij in a group that included defending champion Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and French teenager Paul Seixas. Traeen leads American Sean Quinn by 28 seconds, with Czech Mathias Vacek third at 3 minutes 50 seconds.
The first mountain test
Stage 6 on Thursday runs 186.2 km from Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre, packing 4,100 metres of climbing across five categorised ascents. The route stays relatively calm for the first 100 kilometres, with only the fourth-category Côte de Loucrup (1.9 km at 7.1%) and third-category Côte de Mauvezin (3 km at 6.8%). After the halfway point, the peloton faces three legendary climbs in quick succession: the first-category Col d'Aspin (12 km at 6.5%), the hors catégorie Col du Tourmalet (17 km at 7.3%, with sections above 9%) and an uphill finish to Gavarnie-Gedre.
- Stage start in Pau
- First-category climb, 12 km at 6.5%, located roughly 30 km before the Tourmalet
- Hors catégorie summit at 2,115 m, 17 km at 7.3%, 38 km from the finish
- Uphill finish at Gavarnie-Gedre
Race organisers deliberately lightened the Pyrenean route compared with previous editions, saving the hardest stages for the Alps in the final week. Still, the Tourmalet, whose summit sits 38 km from the finish, remains a natural battleground.
What the teams expect
Sports director Jean-Michel Monin believes the stage could suit a breakaway. "I think that the all-rounders and climbers will tick this one off, because there's a chance that the survivors of the morning breakaway might go on to win just a stone's throw from the majestic Cirques of Gavarnie," he said. He added that general classification contenders may not force the issue unless gaps open on the Aspin.
Julien Jurdie of Decathlon CMA CGM disagrees. "I can't believe UAE or Visma won't do anything on the Tourmalet," he said, predicting Tadej Pogacar will want to test his rivals. UAE Team Emirates-XRG CEO Mauro Gianetti downplayed expectations: "It's an important stage, but I don't think there will be big gaps."
Three years ago, Jonas Vingegaard attacked on the Tourmalet even though the summit was 47 km from the finish, only to be dropped on the final ramp. The memory of that move hangs over Thursday's stage.
