Tour de France 2023 - Stage 5 preview

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Stage 5: Pau to Laruns

Date: July 5, 2023

Distance: 162.7km

Stage type: Mountain

The overall classification of the Tour de France has already broken apart and only 21 contenders are within one minute of race leader Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) after four stages.

That gap is likely to widen as the race heads into the high mountains on stage with an unusually early taste of the Pyrenees. 

The 162.7km ride from Pau to Laruns includes the Col de Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque before a fast descent and the run-in to the finish.

Look for a big fight to get into the breakaway after the peloton took an easy day on stage 5 to Nogaro. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), the leader of the mountains classification, will surely want to get into the move to defend the polka dot jersey on the first hors-category climb of the race, the Col de Soudet.

After almost 20 kilometres of descending, the riders will head through the rolling foothills and crest the category 3 Col d'Ichère. The next climb, the category 1 Col de Marie Blanque and the bonus seconds at the top comes with just 18.5km to go.

Will the GC battle erupt on this unassuming small climb? Will the breakaway be caught and the maillot jersey change hands on the Col de Marie Blanque? Or, can the breakaway gains enough time to contest the stage finish?

It will be a fascinating test of first-week form for the Tour de France contenders.