Stage 5 TDF 2023 Blog: the Race Bursts into Life

Jai Hindley got into a large breakaway group, paced his effort carefully through the afternoon, and dropped his breakaway companions on the climb of the Marie Blanque.

He held off Jonas Vingegaard on the way to Laruns and recorded a memorable win. As well as time taken on the road, he took 18 bonus seconds in total.

Hindley takes the yellow jersey, with a 47s lead over Jonas V.

Video Highlights

These are the video highlights.

The Break

There was a 36-man break – officially Too Big.

Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts emerged from it at one point. Seeing the look of pain on Victor’s face as he tried to hang on to WVA’s wheel was a beautiful moment.

Felix Gall was first over the Col de Soudet.

By the time the race reached the Col de Marie Blanque, Jai Hindley and Felix Gall were in the lead. Hindley then accelerated and dropped Gall, going solo over the top of the climb and collecting bonus seconds.

The Main Field

Meanwhile, the peloton was whittled down to three on the Marie Blanque – Sepp Kuss, Vinegaard and Pogacar.

Then Vingegaard attacked and instantly dropped Pogacar.

On the descent, Vingegaard led Ciccone (Trek) and Buchmann (Bora), both breakaway survivors. The trio, with JV doing all the work, caught Felix Gall, who was the last rider left between the Jumbo Visma leader and Hindley.

Meanwhile Pogacar was losing time to Vingegaard. With Pog were Adam and Simon Yates, David Gaudu, Mattias Skjelmose, Dani Martinez and Carlos Rodriguez.

The Wrist Injury

When Pogacar said that his wrist injury (on 23rd April 2023 at Liege Bastogne Liege) had come at just the right time, it seemed likely he was bluffing. So it has turned out, for now at least.

He achieved a lot in Spring, but to win the Tour de France you have to time your season.

It’s also becoming clearer that Pog and Ving have different qualities. The Slovenian is a climber-puncheur with a fast sprint. The Dane is less explosive, but is the better rider on long climbs.

Winner’s Interview

Jai Hindley gave a nice interview, thanking everyone who has helped him over the years.

What about his piano teacher, though? How come she didn’t get a mention?

In a blow to Mark Cavendish, Luis Leon Sanchez dropped out of the race today.