The Belgian Wout Van Aert, winner of Milan - San Remo, won the sprint in Privas during the 5th stage ahead of the Dutch Cees Bol (Sunweb).
Another success for the Jumbo Visma team, the strongest of the moment, after the success of Primoz Roglic the day before.
Julian Alaphilippe quietly keeps his yellow jersey.
There were one or two edging attempts, in particular from Ineos, Egan Bernal's team, 9 kilometers from the finish, but nothing very sharp.
And above all, until then, nothing had happened.
A long and slow procession without escape, without attack, as if the peloton had wanted to offer a real transition stage, in the old fashioned way.
The riders, already started by a rough start to the Tour, did not want to take risks by unnecessarily exhausting themselves in the wind.
The 183 kilometers seemed very long.
It was exactly what the favorites Roglic, Bernal or Pinot wanted before a possible explanation on the slopes of Mont Aigoual, this Thursday in the Massif Central, then the crossing of the Pyrenees this weekend.
And that made the business of Julian Alaphilippe who did not need to put his team to work to defend his tunic.
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