The Alps are drawing nearer at Critérium du Dauphiné, but today's 162km run from Thizy-les-Bourgs to Chaintré could provide an opportunity for the fast men. There are four classified hills dotted along the parcours, including the Col du Bois Clair and Côte de Vergisson in the finale, which might provide a springboard for attackers to upset the odds.
The peloton is currently navigating the neutralised zone ahead and the race is due to hit kilometre zero at 12.50 local time.
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) leads the Dauphine by 53 seconds from Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) after yesterday's time trial, with his teammates Primoz Roglic (third at 53 seconds) and Jonas Vingegaard (fourth at 1:26) just behind. The full results are available here:
-160km
The peloton is through kilometre zero and stage 5 of the Criterium du Dauphine is formally underway.
Primoz Roglič was the best placed of the overall contenders in Wednesday's time trial, but the Slovenian could only manage fifth on the day, some 42 seconds down on his teammate Van Aert. He knows that improvement will be needed against the watch come the Tour de France. "It's going OK. Definitely I'm not at my best, but I need these kind of things to improve," Roglič said. "I would say mentally [I'm] good, definitely. I'm pleased with my performance, I really pushed myself and I'm happy about that," he said. Read more here.
It's been a very brisk start to proceedings, with a flurry of attack and counter attack. As yet, no move has succeeded in establishing itself, but the high pace is causing some gaps to open in the peloton...
Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) briefly opened a gap over the bunch, but they have been brought to heel. The pace remains high, though the peloton is still just about intact.
-147km
The intensity is evident but the deadlock remains unbroken. The early category 3 ascent of the Col des Ecorbans, coming up in 10km or so, might provide some degree of separation for would-be escapees.
-140km
French champion Rémi Cavagna (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) accelerates off the front of the bunch and brings Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) with him. This duo has a small lead over the peloton on the approach to the day's first climb.
Franck Bonnamour (B&B Hotels-KTM) made a vain attempt to forge across, but his effort is snuffed out by the bunch. Cavagna and Vuillermoz, meanwhile, are just 8 seconds clear of a peloton that seems reluctant to allow them their freedom.
-135km
Cavagna and Vuillermoz's offensive is brought to heel at the base of the Col des Ecorbans, which climbs for 4.2km at an average of 5.6%.
On the Col des Ecorbans, the selection is coming from the rear of the bunch rather than the front for the time being, with several riders beginning to lose contact at the back.
-134km
Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), active on the climb, leads the race over the Col des Ecorbans...
And over the other side, something like the early break looks to be taking shape. An attack from Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) is tracked immediately by the vigilant Bakelants and Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM).
This trio quickly builds a lead of 45 seconds over the peloton, from which Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM) is hurriedly emerging. The Frenchman doesn't want to miss out on the move of the day.
-125km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM)
Chaser at 0:40:
Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM)
Peloton at 0:50
Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) has bridged up to Pierre Rolland to provide some reinforcements, and this duo continues to chase the three leaders.
-119km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM)
Chasers at 0:40:
Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 1:40
-116km
Rolland and Thomas make it to the head of the race shortly after Bakelants leads the break through the intermediate sprint at Chaufailles. The five leaders have an advantage of 2:50 over a settled peloton, where Jumbo-Visma are setting the tempo.
The escapees covered a scorching 46.2km in the opening hour of racing, and there will be plenty in the peloton eager for a little detente in the second hour of the race at least.
-113km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2:50
-110km
The odds are stacked against the leading quintet staying clear, but Rolland will avail of the opportunity to buttress his advantage in the king of the mountains standings. The Frenchman is first to the top of the day's second difficulty, the category 2 Côte de Dun, where the break's lead stands firm at 2:50.
Enric Mas (Movistar), who began the day in 13th place overall, has crashed. The Spaniard has remounted and is chasing the peloton, but he reportedly is nursing a shoulder injury as he does so.
Out in front, meanwhile, Pierre Rolland feels his work for the day is done after he hoovered up the points on the Cote de Dun. The Frenchman sits up and waits for the peloton, leaving four riders at the head of the race.
-95km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2:50
BikeExchange-Jayco have joined Jumbo-Visma in setting the pace at the head of the peloton, mindful that today's finale presents an opportunity for Dylan Groenewegen. Meanwhile, Enric Mas has rejoined the peloton after his earlier crash.
-88km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2:10
The great Julio Jiménez was killed in a car accident earlier this week at the age of 87. The Spaniard was one of the finest climbers in cycling history and one of the most compelling characters the sport has ever known. Alasdair Fotheringham interviewed Jiménez regularly over the years and wrote the definitive profile of the 'The watchmaker of Ávila' for Cycle Sport back in 1998. His obituary of Federico Bahamontes' friend and rival - "arch-frenemy," as Alasdair puts it - is essential reading for anybody with a feel for cycling history and the soul of the sport. Read the full piece here.
(Image credit: Sirotti)
-77km
Back at the Dauphine, BikeExchange-Jayco's pace-making is gradually paring down the break's lead, which has now dipped inside two minutes.
Situation
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 1:40
Jumbo-Visma and BikeExchange-Jayco continue to dictate the terms in the peloton, 1:30 down on the four remaining escapees. The pace is beginning to edge upwards again and the bunch lines out accordingly.
-66km
Bakelants, Schönberger, Doubey and Thomas are still collaborating well out in front, but their lead continues to deflate gradually as Jumbo-Visma and BikeExchange-Jayco lead the chase behind. The gap is now 1:18.
Delegations from Ineos and Bahrain Victorious are posted towards the head of the peloton, tucked in just behind Jumbo-Visma and BikeExchange-Jayco. The late climbs shouldn't suffice to break up the bunch, but vigilance is the order of the day nonetheless.
The summit of the category 4 Col du Bois Clair (2.8km at 3.7%) comes with 24km to go, while the race crests the summit of the category 4 Côte de Vergisson (1.7km at 4.8%) with 12.7km remaining.
-60km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 1:19
-55km
Wout van Aert is sitting back in the body of the peloton for the time being. The Belgian was cagy about his plans for today's stage, but it's hard to imagine that he will pass up the opportunity to sprint for victory at the finish, particularly given the efforts of his Jumbo-Visma squad. It will be fascinating to see if Jumbo-Visma seek to burn off men like Groenewegen on the brace of climbs in the finale.
-51km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 1:40
The pace has abated slightly in the peloton as the race enters the final 50km, and the break's lead has edged out again towards two minutes.
The escapees are negotiating some twisting roads around Poizolle, and they are making some gains on the peloton in this sinuous section of the course, despite BikeExchange-Jayco's forcing behind.
-45km
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) have stretched their lead back out to two minutes, but Jumbo-Visma are again helping BikeExchange-Jayco marshal the pursuit, with Chris Harper to the fore.
-40km
Wout van Aert has moved closer to the head of affairs as the race enters the final 40km. BikeExchange-Jayco continue to perform the bulk of the pace-making, but they will need some more help from Jumbo-Visma and others if they are to reel in the four leaders, who have extended their buffer to 2:10.
-39km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2:10
-36km
Luke Durbridge and Tsgabu Grmay swap turns at the head of the field for BikeExchange-Jayco, but the bunch is still conceding a little ground to Bakelants et al. 2:19 the gap.
-33km
Bakelants, Thomas, Doubey and Schönberger's efforts looked doomed 15km or so ago. The odds are still stacked firmly against them, but they are putting up stout resistance, and their lead is still north of two minutes.
-30km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 2:05
Bakelants et al are being chugged along by a tailwind as they ride towards the base of the penultimate climb of the Col du Bois Clair, still with a lead of two minutes.
-27km
The four leaders hit the base of the 2.7km-long Col du Bois Clair 2:02 clear of the bunch. The escapees should stay together over the top, but the real intrigue will come in the bunch, where men like Groenewegen will hope for a steady pace on the climb. And at that, it's notable that Ineos Grenadiers have moved up, perhaps with a mind to setting up Ethan Hayter for a reduced bunch sprint.
Filippo Ganna takes over in the peloton on the climb and BikeExchange-Jayco have receded from the picture. Their task now is to nurse Groenewegen up the ascent in the peloton.
Ganna's turn immediately slices 15 seconds off the lead of the break, which now stands at 1:44. Some of the men who were working on behalf of Groenewegen and Van Aert are now beginning to drop out the back of the bunch, though the sprinters are still in there for now.
-24km
Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) leads over the Col du Bois Clair and picks up the lone point in the mountains classification to defend the interests of Pierre Rolland. Ineos' pace-setting, however, has slashed the break's lead to 1:25 on this ascent.
Filippo Ganna has led the bunch all the way up this climb. The Italian's efforts have pared the break's lead down to more manageable dimensions but he hasn't managed to distance Groenewegen. There is, of course, another climb for Groenewegen to survive before he can think about a sprint.
-20km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 1:25
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl have joined Ineos in pace-making after the descent off the Bois Clair, and the break's lead is down to 1:13.
-18km
Benjamin Thomas leads the break up an unclassified climb still clutching a lead of 1:17 over the bunch, where Ganna has returned to the head of affairs. The Italian's forcing is stringing out the peloton considerably, but the fast men still look to be on board.
Wout van Aert, incidentally, has been perched towards the head of the bunch all the way through this finale.
Groenewegen is towards the rear of the bunch with some BikeExchange teammates for company. He is hanging tough for now, but he risks being shaken loose in the event of a split.
-15km
Out ahead, meanwhile, Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) still hold a lead of 1:05 over the bunch.
-14km
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) are still battling gamely, clutching a buffer of 59 seconds over the Ineos-led peloton.
-13.5km
The gradient begins to stiffen in the final kilometre of the Cote de Vergisson, and that could prove fatal to the break and to the hopes of men like Groenewegen behind.
Jumbo-Visma and Ineos find common cause on the climb as Steven Kruijswijk hits the front of the peloton. Both Hayter and Van Aert will hope to rid themselves of some rivals here.
Something had to give... Groenewegen has lost contact at the rear of the bunch but the top of the climb isn't far away and the gap isn't - yet - insurmountable.
-12.5km
Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) leads the break over the Vergisson with a lead of 39 seconds over the Jumbo and Ineos-paced peloton,
The road continues to climb after the KOM banner and that won't help Groenewegen's hopes of clambering back on over the other side.
-10km
The break is down to three riders as Doubey loses contact on that unclassified ramp. The bunch is at 37 seconds, while Groenewegen is at least a further 30 seconds back. He has just two teammates for company and this won't be at all straightforward.
-9km
Doubey is back on but he surely won't contribute too much to the ecapees' efforts here. Ganna, meanwhile, continues to ramp up the pressure behind.
-8km
Break:
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)
Peloton at 0:37
Groenewegen group at 1:16
-7.5km
Thomas and Bakelants perform the bulk of the pace-making in this break, still with a lead of 35 seconds over the peloton. Ineos and Jumbo-Visma look content to work together to ensure their men Hayter and Van Aert can fight over the spoils in a sprint.
-7km
This has been a prodigious display of pacemaking from Ganna, but the gap remains north of half a minute. Tao Geoghegan Hart and Primoz Roglic both sit safely near the head of the bunch, incidentally.
-5km
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) has begun to take turns again with Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis). They have 31 seconds in hand on a bunch where Jumbo-Visma have now fully committed to helping Ineos' chase effort.
-4km
Into the final4km for the four leaders, who still have 25 seconds in hand...
-3km
Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) puts in a long turn and then swings over. Ganna can only manage a short effort when he swings over. The gap is still 20 seconds... They couldn't, could they?
-2km
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) have shown admirable unity of purpose on the rippling road towards the finish, but any hesitation will be critical here. 13 seconds the gap...
Michal Kwiatkowski puts in a desperate attempt to breathe life into the chase. He may need help from Primoz Roglic himself to pin back the four leaders...
-1km
Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) pass under the flamme rouge with a lead of 8 seconds on the bunch...
Doubey comes through and drifts across the road... This lull might doom the escapees...
Benjamin Thomas launches his sprint from distance while Jumbo-Visma lead things out from behind...
Wout van Aert has to launch his sprint early, but the break is about to be overhauled..
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) wins stage 5 of the Criterium du Dauphine.
Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) was closing fast but he had to settle for second place. Ethan Hayter (Ineos) took third on the day.
Van Aert, of course, retains his yellow jersey, but that sprint was a bit too close for comfort in every sense. The escapees were so close to pulling off a heist that they were able to start to sprint for the win, while Meeus almost - almost - pipped him at the death.
(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Wout van Aert on his victory: "It was a nervous final. In the beginning it looked like it was finally going to be the first controlled stage. I thought we had the breakaway in check but then they started to speed up and we started to lose ground. In the final kilometres, I was stressed that it was too short to catch them but in the end I think I passed them a few metres before the line and I could win.
"I have to thank all my teammates. I know everybody says it, but in the end if you watch today, all six others were there for me and that makes today’s victory more special.
"I think until the last k I was focused on catching the break and then I shifted to trying to do a good sprint. Luckily we had Christophe [Laporte] with a master pull in the end, and before that, I had asked the boys to do everything they could. And if even our GC guys of 60kg are pulling in the front, then you have to finish it off.
"It’s huge to win again here at the Dauphiné. Today was again very difficult to catch the front group, so I needed my teammates to close the gap. I’m very proud of all my teammates."
Today's results are available here
A full report, results and pictures from today's stage is available here.
(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
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