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Professional cyclists in the cloud of dust in northern France
Photo: Thibault Camus/AP
The Jumbo-Visma disaster: The
strongest team in the field – the reputation of the Dutch racing team Jumbo-Visma has been impressively confirmed so far in this Tour de France after four stages.
Wout van Aert wore the leader's yellow jersey, the Belgian has taken one stage and three second places.
Strong team captains Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard eyed the general classification and hoped to really attack in this fifth stage.
It turned out completely differently - and Jumbo-Visma became the big loser of the day.
Winner of the day:
Right after the start of the stage from Lille to Arenberg, five riders broke away, they defied all the challenges of the dreaded cobblestone passages and stayed ahead until the end.
But in the end only one can win: The Australian Simon Clarke defeated the Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn in an impressive final sprint.
It was the end of an exciting stage with constant twists and turns, which you can read about in detail here.
The Hell of the North:
The region originally received this nickname after the terrible devastation of the First World War.
But today it also applies to the cobblestones, usually the scene of the cycling dramas of the classic Paris-Roubaix.
Parts of the route were found in today's stage, a total of 19.4 of the 153 kilometers were driven on this surface, the notorious pavés.
The feared slide didn't happen because it didn't rain, which was a blessing for the drivers.
Instead, they moved in a huge cloud of dust while being rattled by the cobblestones.
Country and people:
The hell of the north, that's not just cycling, that's history.
The coal mines brought prosperity to the area in the 19th century, but working conditions were brutal.
The film "Germinal" with Gérard Depardieu tells about it, parts of the film were shot here.
The days of the mines are long gone, the region is poor again and unemployment is high.
Falls, falls, falls, and always a team:
you rarely have such bad luck.
There were numerous crashes and breakdowns, and almost always a driver was prominently affected by Jumbo-Visma.
Wout van Aert wedged himself in the wheel of his team-mate Steven Kruijswijk even before the cobblestone passages and slammed onto the tarmac.
A few minutes later he almost collided with a squad car.
Before the stage, most had declared van Aert to be the favorite of the day, and that was the end of it.
And even more Jumbo Visma bad luck:
After that, both of the team's top drivers were hit.
First the Dane Jonas Vingegaard suffered a defect, he quickly swapped the bike with a teammate, but it was much too big for him.
He therefore had to wait for the team car and lost valuable time.
Almost at the same time, Roglič also had problems after a fall.
Panic in the team, you didn't know where to react first.
And another took advantage of that coldly.
The high-flyer:
Tadej Pogačar was the natural top favorite even before this tour.
Hard to beat in the mountains, greatly improved in time trials.
If there was a chance to put him under pressure, it would have to be on cobblestones.
No way: While the competition had their problems to solve at the back, Pogačar really turned up the heat in pursuit of the leading group, banging over the cobblestone passages at almost 50 km/h, the Slovenian seemed to fly over the pavés at times as if that were done Nothing.
A demonstration of his power, it was as if he wanted to call out to his rivals: You shall turn to dust!
From a German point of view:
actually a stage for the Germans, with Max Walscheid, Maximilian Schachmann and Nils Politt there were enough ambitious one-day specialists in the field.
One of the pavés is even named after John Degenkolb, the winner of Paris-Roubaix 2015.
Schachmann and Politt were up front for a long time, but then had nothing to do with the decision.
Walscheid fell early and it was probably a little too warm and too dry for Degenkolb.
After all, he loves it when it gets really unpleasantly wet and slippery.
The feat: The
fact that Jumbo-Visma still had something to celebrate at the end of the day was due to van Aert.
After his fall, the Belgian rolled up the field from behind, then he worked as a team player to lead his captain Vingegaard back to the front.
And in the end he even saved his overall lead by a few seconds.
Roglič, on the other hand, is now more than two minutes behind compatriot Pogačar.
Where is he supposed to catch up?
Especially since he had dislocated his shoulder in the fall: "I couldn't straighten it right away, so I had to sit in a spectator's chair.
I have a special technique and that's how I put it back together,' he said afterwards.
A typical cycling day for him.
The view:
you can forget about relaxation.
On Thursday it's over 220 kilometers from Binche to Longwy, a hilly route, constantly going up and down, it's also the longest stage of the whole tour.
And the day after tomorrow, the super-difficult stage through the Vosges to La Super Planche des Belles Filles is the first mountain finish.
The bet that Pogacar will wear the yellow jersey afterwards stands.
