Giant breakaway turns Tour GC on its head in the Pyrenees as Pogačar loses time

After a snoozy fourth stage, the Tour de France burst into life on Wednesday with a wild day, its main dynamic an enormous breakaway better suited to the second half of a Grand Tour. From this escape 2022 Giro winner Jai Hindley emerged as the yellow jersey, plucking it from the shoulders of Adam Yates. After losing a few bonus seconds to Tadej Pogačar in the first couple of days, Jonas Vingegaard put 1:04 between himself and the Slovenian. Michael Woods was the top Canadian in 19th, and he is 11th on GC.

The Course

Wednesday brought back the mountains. Smack dab in the middle of the route was Col de Soudet, the 110th edition’s first HC-rated climb. This was followed by a Cat. 3 and then a Cat. 1 cresting with 18 km to the finish in Laruns. This last ascent, Col de Marie Blanque, was 7.8 km of 8.4 percent, with the final 4.8 km 10.5 percent.

Pau – Laruns today at the #TDF2023, which can mean only one thing: we are taking on the Pyrenees. pic.twitter.com/ldECpcvDOD

— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 5, 2023

Massive Breakaway

For a Tour de France Stage 5 breakaway, what formed soon after the start in Pau following a few failed attempts was gigantic. Thirty-six chaps, including Hugo Houle, fifth-place Wout Van Aert, seventh-place Hindley and Julian Alaphilippe pulled clear. Only two teams weren’t represented. With the gap approaching 2:00, Van Aert, the yellow jersey on the road, bolted with three other riders to contest the intermediate sprint.

HC-rated Col de Soudet

The HC climb was 15.2 km of 7 percent. Van Aert’s move, now a trio, hit its foot with a 1:00 advantage over the Houle chase and 2:40 over the peloton.

Van Aert was left with Victor Campenaerts at the pointy end of the race but the remnants of the original breakaway, now without Houle, came back to the duo with 2.5 km to climb. Whoever crested first out of the 25 would be the King of the Mountains on the road. The UAE-Emirates-led peloton was 3:15 behind.

Austrian Felix Gall, recently 8th at the Tour de Suisse after a stage win, sprang away into the fog to claim the red polka dots.

As the race made its way down the other side of Soudet, the breakaway reformed once more, but it was streamlined to 17 riders including Van Aert, Gall, Hindley and Alaphilippe. That gap was increasing, not decreasing.

There was discord in the breakaway on the way to the Cat. 3. Houle’s teammate Krists Neilands dashed away from the gang and after Col d’Ichère found Van Aert and Alaphilippe as his company.

Col de Marie Blanque

This new trio started up the final climb with 20 seconds on the Hindley group and 3:20 on the yellow jersey bunch. When the Hindley group linked up with the front group, Van Aert faded out the back. Again, the escape lot splintered. Gall, Hindley, Guilio Ciccone, Jack Haig, Emanuel Buchmann, Dani Martinez and French representative Clément Berthet made up the leading septet. Just at the point where the ascent became steeper, Hindley and Gall surged clear.

With the tiny yellow jersey group +2:20, Hindley went solo. Behind, Vingegaard, his teammate Sepp Kuss and Pogačar took their leave of Michael Woods and company. Vingegaard soloed away with 20 km still to race. Hindley tipped over the top 1:15 ahead of the reigning champion. Pogačar was 20 seconds back.

The Final 18 kms

Hindley wanted that yellow jersey, but could be avoid the clutches of a rampant Vingegaard, who sought bonus seconds on top of the minute he was putting into Pogačar. Hindley’s gap was shrinking as Laruns. Vingegaard didn’t take any bonus seconds in the group that came in 32 seconds behind the Australian, who now leads him at the top of GC by 47 seconds. Pogačar was +1:38 on the day and is sixth place, +1:40 on GC.

Thursday’s stage serves up three big climbs in the final 85 km, including the mighty Tourmalet. The summit finish is long but moderate in grade.

2023 Tour de France Stage 5
1) Jai Hindley (Australia/Bora-Hansgrohe) 3:57:07
2) Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) +0:32
3) Emanuel Buchmann (Germany/Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.
19) Michael Woods (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +1:57
65) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +13:10
126) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +27:19

2023 Tour de France GC
1) Jai Hindley (Australia/Bora-Hansgrohe) 22:15:12
2) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) +0:47
3) Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) +1:03
6) Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia/UAE-Emirates) +1:40
11) Michael Woods (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +2:15
59) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +29:58
129) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +55:28