Tour de France: Australian Simon Clarke wins the 5th stage on the cobblestones of the North

Martin Lange, edited by Romain Rouillard 9:05 p.m., July 06, 2022

This 5th stage of the Tour de France looked like a small Paris-Roubaix, due to the presence of cobblestones on the route.

On this rough road, it was the Australian Simon Clarke who won. 

A bonkers stage and a final to suit!

Here's the final KM of today

A stage of madness and a final of courage!

Relive the last KM of the 5th stage #TDF2022 |

@Continental_fr pic.twitter.com/XwDxwpiYsE

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 6, 2022

The 35-year-old Australian won his very first stage on the Tour after a 150 kilometer breakaway.

He sprinted ahead of his four trailing comrades to sign a victory with a particular taste.

"The cobblestone stage in the Tour de France is always very spectacular. There are several races in the race between the riders who are playing the general and those who are aiming for the stage. It is a very complicated day and winning here, it's really amazing to me."

Van Aert always in yellow 

Far ahead, Simon Clarke nevertheless understood everything that was happening behind.

This northern stage has turned into a real elimination race.

And in this little game, it is the favorite Tadej Pogacar who came out the best.

The Slovenian, imperial on the cobbles, took time from his main opponents, in particular Primoz Roglic, who lost more than two minutes.

Nevertheless, the Jumbo-Visma team retains the yellow jersey, still on the shoulders of Belgian Wout Van Aert, Roglic's teammate.

On the French side, Romain Bardet, David Gaudu and Thibaut Pinot finish in the group of favorites.

For his part, Alexis Gougeard tried his luck but could not hide his disappointment at not being able to follow his companions in the breakaway.

"I'm happy to be ahead, but very disappointed not to hold the wheels. I hate farting like that from a breakaway. But I'll come back".

A new attempt, perhaps, tomorrow on the road to Longwy.