PAU, France (AP) — Dutch rider Olav Kooij won the fifth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Wednesday, while Norwegian rider Torstein Traeen kept the yellow jersey on a day when the peloton largely took it easy.
Kooij was put in a strong position to attack by his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates and held off German Max Kanter and Belgian Tim Merlier in a dash to the line. They all finished in just under 3 1/2 hours.
Traeen rolled over the line 14 seconds later in a big main group containing defending champion Tadej Pogacar and fellow Tour contender Jonas Vingegaard. They both trail Traeen by about eight minutes in the standings. But Traeen, who took the yellow jersey on Stage 4, is not considered a contender for overall victory.
After a testing team time trial, an early mountain stage, raging wildfires and sweltering temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit), riders appreciated Wednesday's flatter fifth stage.
The 158.3-kilometer route from Lannemezan to Pau in southwestern France was made for sprinters.
Kooij was put in a strong position to attack by his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates and held off German Max Kanter and Belgian Tim Merlier in a dash to the line. They all finished in just under 3 1/2 hours.
Traeen rolled over the line 14 seconds later in a big main group containing defending champion Tadej Pogacar and fellow Tour contender Jonas Vingegaard. They both trail Traeen by about eight minutes in the standings. But Traeen, who took the yellow jersey on Stage 4, is not considered a contender for overall victory.
After a testing team time trial, an early mountain stage, raging wildfires and sweltering temperatures hitting 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit), riders appreciated Wednesday's flatter fifth stage.
The 158.3-kilometer route from Lannemezan to Pau in southwestern France was made for sprinters.
21 days ago
