Fifth stage Tour de France, victory and yellow jersey in Hindley, Vingegaard detaches Pogacar

Laruns. This time a Slovenian didn’t win in Laruns, as had always happened. On the contrary, Pogacar he sensationally failed the first real test in the mountains, going sheer on the Marie Blanque, the climb that had launched him in 2020. A snap of Vingegaard he knocked him out, then it was a long and complicated chase, with a good minute left to the Dane at the end. But it’s not just Vingegaard celebrating. The stage win and the yellow jersey are by Jai Hindley, the Australian winner of the Giro d’Italia 2022, good at inserting himself in the great breakaway of the day and splendid in resisting the thousand upheavals that occurred along the way, the Soudet and precisely the Marie Blanque. Giulio is also an excellent protagonist of the stage Ciccone, started for the points in the polka dot jersey, but finished second and now third in the standings, 1’03” behind Hindley. Vingegaard is 2nd at 47”, Pogacar is even 6th at 1’47”. An earthquake that was difficult to imagine on the eve, dominated by the serenity of the UAE group and by the discords in the Jumbo house. All canceled out with the attack on Marie Blanque by Vingegaard, anticipated by a long shot by Van Aert and favored by one of the classic tirades by Sepp Kuss. Pogacar found himself alone, as often happens, and had to let go. Now the Tour will be all in pursuit of him.

“The stage report”

The escape is formed in the first stretch of plain before the Soudet. About thirty, including Ciccone and Hindley, isolate themselves in front. Van Aert and Campenaerts come out of this uphill group. The UAE works behind and keeps the gap around 3 minutes. At 3 km from the summit of Soudet Ciccone accelerates, but the Austrian Felix Gall passes first on the hors-category pass, the Abruzzese is also third behind Daniel Felipe Martinez.
Another reshuffling before the Cote d’Ichère: the Latvian Neilands starts alone, Van Aert and Alaphilippe come back under him, in the downhill they go away in three with about thirty seconds on the Hindley-Ciccone group and about 3 minutes on the yellow jersey group. Neilands, Van Aert and Alaphilippe are absorbed on the Marie Blanque, the last and most difficult climb of the day. Hindley is the most convinced rider among those on the attack also and above all in terms of standings. The Australian, winner of the 2022 Giro d’Italia, accelerates with Gall and leaves Ciccone and Buchmann behind. 2 from the top of Marie Blanque in the yellow jersey group there is a clear change of pace: it is Vingegaard’s Jumbo who takes over Pogacar’s UAE in the lead and sets the pace also thanks to Van Aert, caught up at the right time. At -1.7 from the gpm Hindley detaches Gall and leaves, while from the train of the big names, 2 minutes from the head of the race, Adam Yates drops the yellow jersey on the forcing of the Jumbo and above all of Sepp Kuss. They go in three: Kuss, Vingegaard and Pogacar. And it is Vingegaard who places the good attack. Pogacar doesn’t respond immediately, closely followed by Kuss. At the top of the Marie Blanque Hindley passes with 50” on Gall, 1’03” on Vingegaard, Ciccone and Buchmann, 1’43” on Pogacar and Kuss, over 2′ on the Yates twins.
In the stretch of plain Vingegaard repeatedly seeks the collaboration of the other three, without getting an answer. But Pogacar, a minute further back, is also in a similar situation with Kuss. However, the return of the small group Yates gives the Slovenian a hand, even if by now the distance with Vingegaard is unbridgeable. Victory and yellow jersey for Jai Hindley, an extraordinary Ciccone is 2nd at 32” in the small group closed by Vingegaard. The Pogacar group closes at 1’38”. Hindley is the 15th Australian to win the Tour, the 8th in the yellow jersey. Tomorrow it’s back to climbing and descending in the Pyrenees in Tarbes-Cauterets: Aspin, Tourmalet and the final climb towards Cambasque could once again do incalculable damage. And Hindley is really a candidate to be one of the protagonists of the three yellow weeks.