(Laruns) Jai Hindley won the fifth stage of the Tour de France alone on Wednesday in Laruns where the Australian took the lead in the general classification ahead of Jonas Vingegaard who took around a minute from his great rival Tadej Pogacar.
Canadian Michael Woods finished 19th in the 162.7km race, and he slipped three spots overall. The Ottawa cyclist is now in 11th place, two minutes 15 seconds behind the new leader. Quebecers Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin finished the stage in 65th and 126th place respectively.
This first day in the mountains has already upset the hierarchy with the loss of the yellow jersey for the Briton Adam Yates (UAE), the seizure of power by Jai Hindley and the coup de force of Vingegaard which dropped Pogacar in proportions that we do not didn’t imagine seeing the profile of the stage.
The Dane placed a blistering attack just over a kilometer from the top of Marie Blanque to clinch the Slovenian, unable to follow and who is now 53 seconds behind the defending champion overall.
Vingegaard gradually extended his lead, including on the long descent to Laruns, taking back the day’s breakaways one by one. It was too late to catch Hindley, who had started in the morning break of 36 riders.
The 27-year-old Australian, who is new to the Tour de France after winning the Giro in 2022, has taken a significant advantage over all the other podium contenders and is 47 seconds ahead of Vingegaard overall.
For the rest, Vingegaard pulled off an excellent operation, well helped by his team-mates from Jumbo-Visma who, after a turbulent start to the Tour, were up front all day, like Wout Van Aert, combative of the day.
At the end of Marie Blanque, it was Sepp Kuss, the Sherpa of Vingegaard, who blew up the group of favorites, including Adam Yates, by imposing a hell of a train.
Once the boss flew away, the American still hung like a leech in the wheel of Pogacar which he marked until the finish.
The Slovenian, winner in 2020 and 2021, will have an opportunity to take his revenge on Thursday during the second Pyrenean stage, which notably passes through the Tourmalet. But the doubts surrounding his state of form, after his wrist fracture on April 23, were largely confirmed on Wednesday in Laruns.
