TOPS
To discover
The general classification of the Tour de France
Tour de France 2022: discover the map and the route of the next edition
Tadej Pogacar's appetite
Twirling on the cobblestones on Wednesday, Tadej Pogacar easily won at Longwy on Thursday after a clear sprint during which he easily controlled his compatriot Primoz Roglic to pick his first bouquet on this Tour.
His 7th stage victory on the Tour (3 in 2019; 3 in 2021).
The Slovenian, who is running after a third consecutive victory in the Tour, had marked bodies and minds on Wednesday.
He put a second round on Thursday.
And laid a firm hand on the event by putting on the yellow jersey.
The leader of the UAE Team Emirates team had never put on the yellow jersey so early in the Tour (on the evening of the 20th stage in 2020, after the 8th stage in 2021).
The first hour of wild racing
The peloton shaken on the cobbles wasted no time getting into action.
The first hour of the race was the scene of a succession of attacks.
Apathetic during the first days in Denmark, the peloton found favorable ground and gave free rein to its desires.
Among the first attackers of the day was Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R-Citroën) who had long checked this stage for the punchers.
And the pace quickly panicked the average: 53.2 km covered in the first hour.
Alexis Vuillermoz's attempt
Installed in the final 6 km from the finish, the coast of Pulventeux (800 m at 12.3%) was the scene of a beautiful explanation.
Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies), the first striker of the day took the lead.
Benoît Cosnefroy tried to catch up with him.
In vain.
The Jura winner at Mûr-de-Bretagne on the 2015 Tour struggled before seeing the ambitious swoops down on him 1.4 km away led by Tadej Pogacar…
FLOPS
Wout van Aert, caught in his own trap
The Yellow Jersey, hard at work throughout the grueling day on the cobblestones (5th stage, Wednesday), spent rowing against the current in an attempt to keep a drifting Jumbo-Visma team afloat, s t was once again bustling this Thursday between Binche and Longwy.
He ran after the breakaways, before embarking on the adventure.
With ants in the legs.
A last stand before letting his precious overcoat walk around on new shoulders?
The will continues to animate (like the Dane Magnus Cort Nielsen)?
His team (in which Primoz Roglic took the start and tried his luck in the sprint, he who had had a dislocated shoulder on Wednesday) made up with this initiative.
The Belgian has long taken in his wake the Dane Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) who let slip the duo composed with the
American Quinn Simmons.
The versatile Belgian then spun alone at 30 km, before being caught by the peloton 11 km from the finish.
He finally lost 7'27'' and his yellow jersey.
Van Aert (green jersey) will quickly resume his role as guardian angel with Jonas Vingagaard.
After having shown all the colors at the start of the Tour.
Rewarded with the price of combativeness, after a day when his panache misguided him.
Mathieu van der Poel, in the shadow of his ambitions
At work for Jasper Philipsen, the sprinter of his Alpecin Deceuninck team, in Denmark, then during the 4th stage arriving in Calais, Mathieu Van der Poel bet on the cobblestones to shine.
81st, he suffered.
This Thursday, the Dutchman was still struggling (145th at 10'24'').
The Giro-Tour sequence weighed painfully on the legs of Raymond Poulidor's grandson.
For Van der Poel, flamboyant last year, artificer of a first week all fired up, the Towers follow each other and are not alike...