The day before the weekend, the riders faced several cobbled sections in the north of France. A local lap in Maing was ridden six times. The pace was incredibly fast right from the start in Valenciennes. It was therefore no surprise that a real breakaway did not get going for a long time. Team Visma | Lease a Bike had to do without Menno Huising, who didn’t start the fifth stage due to the consequences of yesterday’s crash, but was constantly alert and parried attack after attack.

Thanks to Loe van Belle and Per Strand Hagenes, who managed to neutralize several breakaway attempts, the pink leader’s jersey remains on Zingle’s shoulders after today. The Frenchman briefly believed victory was within reach, but Pierre Gautherat timed his attack to perfection, crossing the line just ahead of the fast-approaching, thinned-out peloton.

"It’s a pity we didn’t win, but we really gave it everything today”, a satisfied Frans Maassen reflects. “We were missing two important riders - Menno and, of course, Julien - so staying in the race and even fighting for the stage win was quite a challenge. I have to give the guys a big compliment for that."

The sports director continues: "We had to put in a lot of energy, but fortunately it paid off. Alongside a great third place, we’re still holding on to the leader’s jersey. Per rode a fantastic race today and remains well placed in the general classification. Tomorrow promises to be another exciting day. On paper, it’s the toughest stage of the week. The team’s form and morale are good, so we’ll go for it again tomorrow."