The cobblestones delivered a breathtaking race in the fifth stage of the Tour de France won by Australian Simon Clarke (Israel PT) on Wednesday at Arenberg.

The stage, in the dust, turned out badly for the Jumbo team, dominating the day before.

If Wout van Aert saved his yellow jersey despite a fall, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic lost more than two minutes on his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, the first of the favorites at the finish.

Back, in pictures, in the hell of the cobblestones with the runners.


Directed by:

Olivier JUSZCZAK

  • Cobblestones, wind, dust and falls were on the program for this fifth stage between Lille and Arenberg.

  • The stage, in the dust, turned out badly for the Jumbo team, dominating the day before.

  • The wearer of the yellow jersey fell with one of his teammates (Steven Kruijswijk) nearly 97 kilometers from the finish, at the exit of a bend.

  • Up front, the breakaway of six riders – Cort Nielsen, van der Hoorn, Boasson Hagen, Clarke, Powless, Gougeard – arrived on the first of the eleven cobbled sections with a lead of 3' 30”.

  • Over the sectors, falls and punctures have multiplied.

  • Pogacar quickly found himself alone, without teammates, on the cobblestone sectors.

  • Transformed into a super-teammate for the Dane Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert rescued his leader… And a few other candidates for the podium clinging to his coattails.

  • Pogacar, double reigning winner of the Tour, went on the offensive on the cobblestones 18 kilometers from the finish.

  • At almost 36 years old, Simon Clarke has won a Tour stage for the first time.

  • The photo-finish was necessary to decide between the Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn.

  • Very comfortable, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar distanced all his opponents without however succeeding in the KO

  • Roglic, his runner-up in the 2020 Tour, was caught in a collective fall caused by a bale of straw encroaching on the road after being apparently hit by a motorcycle.

    He lost more than two minutes on his compatriot Tadej Pogacar.

  • With Australian Ben O'Connor (fourth in the 2021 Tour), left behind in one of the first sectors, he is the main loser of the day.

  • But Briton Christopher Froome was happy at the finish when he learned of his teammate's victory.

  • Cycling

  • Slideshow

  • Primoz Roglic

  • Tadej Pogacar

  • Tour de France 2022

  • Wout van Aert