As it happened: a new race leader after a solo Alpine attack in the Tour de France

So after that giant slice of GC action, what’s on for Wednesday on stage 5?

177 kilometres long, Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne to Saint Vulbas is the first full stage of the 2024 Tour de France to be held wholly on French soil, and it’s also the first of two back-to-back stages likely to end in a bunch sprint. 

A bizarrely unclassified 13-kilometre climb mid-way through the stage, though, might act as a springboard for late breaks or for some of the teams with sprinters who can climb well to try and burn out the true flatlanders. After that, there are another two cat 4 climbs before a straightforward 35 kilometre run-in to the finish.

Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso were both key players in UAE Team Emirates dominating performance on the Galibier, setting things up perfectly for Pogačar to attack and shredding the field. James Moultrie has more on how they were instrumental in reducing the lead peloton to less than ten riders here.

‘The best team in the world’ – Almeida and Ayuso shred Tour de France GC field for Pogačar in UAE masterclass 

A shot of Pogačar dropping Vingegaard on the Galibier

Some words from Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), second on the stage and now second overall. Although he was dropped just before Vingegaard when Tadej  Pogačar attacked close to the summit of the Galibier, the Belgian then recouped his losses on the descent.
“It feels good, and it’s great to finish second to the best rider in the world,” he said.
“As a team, we have nothing to complain about – the strategy was good. It was a good day for us.”
“Over 2,000 metres [above sea level], it gets harder to breathe and any acceleration can have a big effect. WhenPogačar  attacked, we were almost at 2,600 metres. I tried to keep up, but it was still a bit too much above my level. “

Abrahamsen is also four points clear of Pogačar and remains leader in the mountains ranking, while Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) is currently heading the BYR classification. Movistar, though, have been ousted from their top spot in the teams classification, now headed by UAE Team Emirates.

No changes in the green jersey leader, incidentally, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) remains on top with 87 points, four ahead of stage 3 winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).