The Slovak wins the fifth stage of the Tour de France launched from Lorraine and arrived in Colmar in Alsace. The yellow jersey remains in the hands of a Frenchman.
Slovakia’s Peter Sagan (Bora) won on Wednesday 10 July 2019 the 5th stage of the Tour de France, whose overall ranking remains dominated by the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, on the eve of the first arrival at the summit of the 2019 edition.
At the end of the 175.5 km between Saint-Dié-des-Vosges and Colmar, marked by two passes of 2nd and 3rd category, the green jersey preceded in sprint the Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo) and the Italian Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton).
📹 Relive the last kilometre of stage 5 and @petosagan‘s huge win! 🏆 💚
📹 Revivez le dernier kilomètre de l’étape du jour et la victoire au sprint du Maillot Vert Peter Sagan! 💚🏆#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/tV1NpS2bGC— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) 10 July 2019
Aged 29 and three-time world champion (2015 to 2017), Peter Sagan has been the immovable green jersey of the Tour since his debut in the Grand Loop in 2012. Except once, in 2017, when he was ruled out for sprinting irregular in the first week.
“It was necessary to be patient, the victory finally arrived. My teammates did a great job. We managed the race throughout the day and we finished well. I gave the best, “said Sagan, who had won only three times since the start of the season.
The favourites of the Tour have been observed during this summer day, the first on a mountain course. But the breakaway, launched after many attempts early in the race, has never been able to have a free hand.
Alaphilippe at the foot of La Planche
Australia’s Simon Clarke, Belgium’s Tim Wellens, Denmark’s Mads Würtz and Latvia’s Toms Skujins earned only a margin of around two minutes. Skujins distanced his companions in the Trois-Epis coast, 37 kilometres from the finish. The Latvian was caught in the final difficulty, on the threshold of the last 20 kilometres, by a peloton led mostly by teammates Michael Matthews (7th at the finish).
This group, skim but still compact, disputed the victory in Colmar, despite a solitary attempt by the Portuguese Rui Costa (UAE Emirates), taken only 2 kilometres from the line.
Julian Alaphilippe, 10th in the stage, kept his advantage in the overall standings over the yellow jersey candidates, the Tour favourites who will be riding on the slopes of La Planche des Belles Filles.
“He is able to keep the jersey,” said his cousin and coach Franck Alaphilippe. “The climb is very hard but, for 7 kilometres, he can make the match with the best. He has the means to do it anyway. But it will depend on how the stage is run.
160.5 kilometres long, the course goes up and down in the Vosges, no less than six passes or hills listed before the final climb (7 km to 8.7%). This year, the organizers have pushed back the climb of one kilometre on a very steep road (up to 24%), compared to the three previous arrivals of the Tour in the Haute-Saône resort.
