Australian veteran Simon Clarke pipped fellow escapee Taco van der Hoorn in a pulsating photo finish to Stage 5 in Arenberg on a day of untold drama on the cobblestones of northern France. Wout van Aert retained the yellow jersey but Jumbo-Visma had a nightmare as Primoz Roglic conceded over two minutes to defending champion Tadej Pogacar.
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Wout van Aert spread his wings in Stage 4 of the Tour de France, soloing clear with 10km to go with a devastating attack after Jumbo-Visma blew the race apart on the final climb. “I didn’t want to take the risk anymore,” Van Aert said after ending his run of three successive second places and strengthening his grip on the yellow and green jerseys.
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Stage 3 came down to a four-way battle between Dylan Groenewegen, Wout van Aert, Jasper Philipsen and Peter Sagan. Van Aert launched first but was too preoccupied with events on his immediate right as Sagan moved up his inside, with Groenewegen darting through on the line to win by the narrowest of margins. Philipsen took third ahead of Sagan, who wagged his finger at Van Aert after the finish.
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Fabio Jakobsen made it two from two for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, following up Yves Lampaert’s Stage 1 time trial win with a sprint triumph on Stage 2. The win seals a stunning comeback for Jakobsen, who was left in a coma after a devastating crash at the Tour of Poland in 2020. Wout van Aert took second and Mads Pedersen was third. The bonus points on the line moved Van Aert into yellow.
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Belgium’s Yves Lampaert caused a surprise in rainy Copenhagen by beating the highly fancied Wout van Aert and Filippo Ganna in the opening time trial to snatch the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France. Tadej Pogacar got his three-peat bid off to a roaring start with a solid third place on the highly technical 13.2km course.
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