the dutch Olav Kooij (Jumbo Visma) won the fifth stage of the Paris-Nice sprint, between Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise and Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, the longest of this edition, with a distance of 212 km, one day of transition that kept the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE) with the yellow jersey.
The Colombian Daniel Felipe Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) remained in the top ten of the general classification: he is seventh, one minute and 42 seconds behind Pogacar.
Kooij (Numansdorp, 21 years old), one of the leading sprinters in Dutch cycling, was powerful in the finish line, where he prevailed with a time of 5h:19.54, at an average of 39.8 km/h, ahead of the Danish Mads Pedersen (Trek) and the Belgian Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step). It was victory number 16 in the record of the Jumbo Visma rider.
Olav Kooij won the fifth stage of Paris-Nice.
Anne-Christine Poujoulat. AFP
The favorites barely appeared in this long day. It was, therefore, a comfortable day for Tadej Pogacar and the men in the general classification, who are scheduled for the weekend. The Slovenian kept the lead with 6 seconds over the Frenchman David Gaudú (Groupama) and 44 with respect to Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma).
This was the transition stage in Paris-Nice
Quiet, transitional, truce stage awaiting a weekend in which important battles between the favorites are expected. The 5 levels distributed along the route, the last one 35 km from the finish line, that of Aleyrac, of 4.6 km at 4.8 percent, did not alter the order in the large group. Nothing stressful.
The breakaway on duty was not lacking, first one was formed with 4 runners, but the marathon that awaited them convinced them to let themselves catch up. Only the Frenchman Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies) resisted, who even had a 5-minute lead. At 88 km from the finish line, he pulled out of his wits once he displayed himself for a long distance and got lost in the middle of the crowd.
With the headwind, the race chose to run in perfect union, waiting to face the outcome in the sprint, a possibility that suited the sprinters’ teams wonderfully, exempt from canceling adventures. However, UAE, Jumbo, Jayco and Groupama did not lose sight of the head of the peloton in order to avoid risks of falls and changes in the direction of the wind.
Tranquility and harmony until the alarm sounded at the proximity of the goal. It was a bit late. Barely 3 km from the last line, the revolution began in the peloton. No team rode their train, but the chosen ones were in contention. The British Ben Swift (Ineos) attacked from afar, but was immediately reduced to promote plans for a massive arrival.
Inside the straight he tried to surprise Bennett, but Koiij stuck to his wheel, passed him and went straight to glory. Arms raised, victory for the youth.
This Friday the sixth stage will be held, between Tourves and La Colle-sur-Loup, 197.4 km, a medium-mountain day that will serve as an appetizer for an intense weekend with important ports, decisive for deciding the general classification.
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