Wout van Aert wins fifth stage

Wout van Aert has won the fifth stage of the 107th Tour de France. The Belgian won on Wednesday after 183 kilometers from Gap to Privas in the mass sprint ahead of the Dutchman Cees Bol from the German Sunweb team and the Irish Sam Bennett. The German drivers didn’t play a big role in the final.

The French Julian Alaphilippe meanwhile lost the yellow jersey after a time penalty. The Quick-Step professional crossed the finish line at the same time as the sprint winner Wout Van Aert on the fifth stage, but was subsequently penalized with 20 seconds because he had accepted food 17 km before the finish. This is only allowed up to 20 km before the end of the stage. The new overall leader is the Briton Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) with three seconds ahead of Primoz Roglic (Slovenia / Jumbo-Visma), Alaphilippe fell back to 16th place.

“It was pretty hectic with a lot of wind, so I’m very happy,” said Van Aert. “I now have my stage win, now it’s about supporting the team,” said the Belgian, who won Milan-Sanremo at the beginning of August. For the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma, for which Tony Martin (Cottbus) also works, it was the second successive day win on Tuesday after the success of the Slovenian yellow candidate Roglic.

John Degenkolb, meanwhile, is on the mend after his early retirement from the Tour de France. “I am more confident than the last few days. Things are looking up again. The swelling in the knees is still there, but it has gotten better, ”said Degenkolb of the ARD. On Wednesday he was for the first time on the bike for an hour. The 31-year-old fell badly on the first stage of the Tour and then missed the time limit.

The sixth stage ends on Thursday after 191 kilometers on the 1560 meter high Mont Aigoual. It is not a real mountain arrival, even if it goes up from the Col de la Lusette – a mountain of the first category – 14 kilometers before the end of the stage. There may be a good chance for outliers.