Key events
138km to go: With hias teammates Morkov and Jakobsen a minute behind at the back of the field, Remi Cavagna launches an attack at the front. Jakobsen’s fellow sprinters Mark Cavendish and Sam Welsford are also struggling at the back in this hilly section.
139km to go: Having rejoined the peloton, Fabio Jakobsen is quickly dropped again as the race goes uphill again. He’s still being shepherded along by Michael Morkov and will be hoping a breakaway is allowed to escape so the peloton slows down a bit. Good luck with that, Fabio, because at the front of the bunch, Tadej Pogacar has just put the hammer down to close the gap between the peloton and another group of wannabe escapees.
141km to go: Pierre Latour is joined by eight riders, with Julian Alaphilippe, Michal Kwiatkowski, Warren Barguil and Alberto Bettiol among them. They’re unable to snap the elastic and now make up the front of the peloton.
146km to go: Today’s stage has yet to settle but Pierre Latour continues to hold a slender lead, almost certainly praying that he’ll soon have some company. Jakobsen and Morkov are in among the convoy of cars trailing the bunch, bending the rules as they take advantage of the slipstream they create to help rejoin their chums.
148km to go: At the back of the field, Fabio Jakobsen is already struggling, clearly feeling the effects of the injuries he sustained yesterday. His teammate Michael Morkov is helping him along.
149km to go: Pierre Latour continues to plough his lone furrow with a lead of 17 seconds. Back in the bunch, Julian Alaphilippe launches an attack that is quickly shut down. Now Alberto Bettiol and Wout van Aert make their move.
Two withdrawals: Contrary to what I reported earlier, yesterday’s crashes led to two withdrawals. Lotto Dstny rider Jacobo Guarnieri and Astana’s Luis Leon Sanchez have both been forced to quit the race. The field is down to 172 riders.
154km to go: Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), winner of the Tour de Suisse, is one of a handful of riders to crash in the peloton but all seem to be OK. He and two team-mates draft behind a car as they make their way back to the bunch.
155km to go: Neilson Powless tries another attack and is followed by 10 other riders. The peloton ups the pace and sucks them back in. Latour is only five seconds clear.
156km to go: TotalEnergies rider Pierre Latour jumps off the front and is allowed to open a gap of nine seconds. Already 24 minutes behind on GC, he won’t be a source of concern for the big-hitters but will be hoping a few other riders can get across to join him.
They’re racing on stage five …
161km to go: No sooner does Christian Prudhomme give the signal to start racing than Powless attacks off the front with several other riders but they’re not allowed to get away. The peloton is strung out and travelling at 57km per hour but remains intact.
Not long now: The riders are in the closing stages of the neutral zone and with the intermediate sprint 45 kilometres into the stage, it will be intriguing to see who and how many riders try to form the inevitable breakaway, and whether or not they will be allowed to escape. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), for example, has his eye on the green jersey currently occupied by Jakobsen and will presumably fancy his chances of hoovering up some points. In the polka-dot jersey, Neils Powless (EF Education-Easypost) will also hope to be first over the early climb.
Fabio Jakobsen: The Dutch sprinter crashed in the closing stages of yesterday’s stage and sets off today with a rectangular plaster on his right knee and a sizeable gauze bandage around his calf.
All of the riders who hit the deck yesterday have made it to the start today and there have only been two abandonments in this year’s race so far. Movistar leader Enric Mas and his EF Education-Easypost counterpart Richard Carapaz were both forced to pull out following a crash on the first stage.
Stage five is underway …
The pedals are turning and the riders are making their way through Pau but remain in the neutral zone and won’t be given to signal to begin racing for another eight kilometres.
The top five on General Classification
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Adam Yates (UAE Emirates) 18hr 18min 01sec
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Tadej Pogacar (UAE EMirates) +06sec
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Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) +06sec
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Victor Lafay (Cofidis) +12sec
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Wout van Aert +16sec
Christian Prudhomme on today’s stage: “There’s still time for questions going into the first rendezvous in the mountains,” writes the race director in the Tour handbook. “The climbs of the Col de Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque will provide some answers about the form of the contenders for the title, but the terrain isn’t really suitable for big attacks. That said…”
Philipsen wins again amid scenes of ‘carnage’
Stage four report: Jasper Philipsen of Belgium sealed back-to-back victories in the Tour de France, winning stage four from Dax to Nogaro as a soporific afternoon’s racing exploded into chaotic life in the closing kilometres. Jeremy Whittle reports from Nogaro …
William Fotheringham on stage five: Two super-steep and gratingly long climbs in the Pyrenees will give a real idea of who is in for the win. It’s 44 years since the Tour has had ascents this severe this early in the race, and there could be as few as a dozen riders in the hunt at the finish. A fast-finishing climber who can descend fast will win this stage, someone of the calibre of Matej Mohoric.
Stage five: Pau to Laruns (162.7km)
While the hustle and bustle of yesterday’ finish was predictably exciting, the opening 177 kilometres of the stage was a prolonged yawn as the riders conserved their energy for today’s foray into the Pyrenees, the first of two consecutive stages in the mountains straddling France and Spain.
The riders will set off from Pau, which is hosting a stage for the 74th time and while today’s profile is not especially daunting, it does feature several stiff climbs and bracing descents, including the first hors catégorie ascent of this year’s Tour in the 15km long Col de Soudet.
In the race leader’s maillot jaune for a fourth consecutive day, Adam Yates could surrender it today given that his main focus will be working in the service of his team leader, Tadej Pogacar, whose first ever Tour stage win came in 2020 when the riders travelled from … Pau to Laruns. Stay tuned for the roll-out at 12.05pm (BST).
