After yesterday’s individual time trial - where Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson finished second and third respectively - and with three mountain stages ahead, the fifth stage was expected to be a relatively easier day. With five categorized climbs in prospect, the attackers were given plenty of freedom. It wasn’t until the final kilometers that the escapees were caught, allowing the sprinters’ teams to take control at the front of the peloton.

The stage win went to Jake Stewart. The Dutch cycling formation did not contest the stage victory, but navigated the fifth day in France smoothly. Sports director Grischa Niermann is satisfied with that. “It was a nervous day in the peloton, and the high temperatures certainly played a role. We stayed compact and close to the front all day as a team and avoided any problems. Compliments to the squad.”

Starting tomorrow, the peloton will enter the high mountains. With finishes at Côte de la Cry, Valmeinier 1800, and Col du Mont-Cenis coming up, it promises to be a spectacular weekend in the Critérium du Dauphiné. “We will prepare a solid plan for those stages. They are short but tough”, the sports director says.

Vingegaard currently holds fourth place in the general classification, with Jorgenson in eighth. The gaps to leader Remco Evenepoel are small. “We want to move up the general classification with Jonas and Matteo and compete for stage wins. The team is in good shape: not only in terms of positions in the GC, but also Ben and Sepp are doing well”, Niermann concludes.