Stage 5 — Olav Kooij wins the bunch sprint in Pau

Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA-CGM) won Stage 5 in Pau for his first Tour stage win and Decathlon's first stage win in this Tour. Mads Pedersen finished 7th on the stage and extended his green-jersey lead. Træen survived the day in yellow, still +7:53 on Pogačar and the GC group.

Stage 5 — top 10

• 🏆 Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA-CGM) — 3h 29'07", bonus 10"
• Max Kanter (XDS Astana) — s.t., bonus 6"
• Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) — s.t., bonus 4"
• Huub Artz (Lotto Intermarché) — s.t.
• Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) — s.t.
• Biniam Girmay (NSN) — s.t.
• Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) — s.t.
• Milan Fretin (Cofidis) — s.t.
• Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) — s.t.
• Søren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) — s.t.

Pogačar, Vingegaard, Træen and the rest of the GC group finished +0:14. All favourites stayed together; the GC buffer is unchanged at +7:53.

GC after Stage 5 (top of classification)

• 🟡 Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) — 16h 32'07"
• (front-split riders from Stage 4, +0:00 to +0:14)
• Tadej Pogačar (UAE-XRG) — +7:53
• Jonas Vingegaard (Visma) — +7:53
• Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora) — +7:53
• Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) — +7:53

Decathlon takes a sprint win

Kooij's victory is Decathlon CMA-CGM's first Tour stage win in this race and rewards a strong first-week lead-out. Kooij is the team's designated sprinter alongside the GC-protected Seixas. The win also keeps Decathlon's tally relevant beyond the white jersey race.

Pedersen extends green-jersey lead

Pedersen takes 7 points for 7th. Combined with his Stage 4 win, his green-jersey points jump from 103 to 108. No other sprinter crosses the line high enough to threaten.

Træen survives

Træen crosses with the GC group at +0:14, well inside the safety margin. Uno-X's GC bubble holds.

What it means for Stage 6

Stage 6 (Pau → Gavarnie-Gèdre, 186 km, Tourmalet summit finish, 4,150 m of climbing) is the day Træen returns yellow to Pogačar. Pre-race commentary: "UAE went full Cobra Kai today; they showed no mercy. Jonas [Vingegaard] will hope he can become Danny LaRusso, otherwise the race is already over." Stage 6 is where the GC fight starts in earnest. Expect a Pogačar attack on the Tourmalet, with Vingegaard and Evenepoel trying to limit losses.

Sources

• letour.fr Stage 5 ranking — letour.fr/en/rankings/stage-5
• Pre-race commentary: Cycling Mole Stage 4 / 5 previews, "UAE went full Cobra Kai today; they showed no mercy"