Criterium du Dauphine 2024: Stage 5 overshadowed by heavy crash and neutralised

20.8 kilometres before the finish, there was a serious mass crash on stage 5 of the Criterium du Dauphine. In rainy conditions and slippery roads, numerous riders in the peloton crashed. Many had to be treated for open wounds, some even had to be taken away by ambulance. The race was paused shortly after the crash. After a break of around half an hour, the riders rode to the finish neutralised because there were no longer enough ambulances available for a potential new crash under race conditions. There was no stage winner on the stage from Amplepuis to Saint-Priest.

Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel comment on injuries

Many of the riders who crashed suffered wounds, but were able to get back on their bikes after a few minutes to catch their breath. The two top favourites Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick Step) also crashed, but were able to finish the stage.

>> All stages of the Criterium du Dauphine at a glance

>> New racing bikes at the Criterium du Dauphine

Bora-Hansgrohe wrote on X (formerly Twitter)that there were no broken bones in the team, only abrasions and sprains. Roglic himself told several media outlets at the finish that he had fallen on his shoulder, on which he had already undergone surgery a few years ago. "But it was definitely much better for me than for some others, because I still crossed the finish line," said the Slovenian.

Evenepoel also commented on his state of health in the mixed zone after the stage. "My right side is pretty damaged, but there are no fractures, otherwise I wouldn't still be here," explained the time trial world champion. "That's the positive thing about my crash, I don't have to give up the race. But I had a pretty big blow to my knee. Another bike hit my knee and it was pretty painful, but I actually thought it would be worse than it is now."

Visma | Lease a Bike hit particularly hard

Team Visma | Lease a Bike, on the other hand, were hit harder. Both Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle had to be taken away by ambulance. For them, the tour is over and their start at the Tour de France is in acute danger. At Bahrain-Victorious, Rainer Kepplinger had to abandon due to the concussion protocol, Jasha Sütterlin was taken to hospital for examinations. With Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Axel Mariault (Cofidis) and Remy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), four more riders abandoned the Criterium du Dauphine 2024 on stage 5.

>> How the 4th stage of the Criterium du Dauphine went

The current standings in the overall standings of the Criterium du Dauphine 2024

1. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick Step) 12:27:22
2. Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:33
3. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) +1:04
4. Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) +1:11
5. Oier Lazkano (Movistar) +1:21
6. Bruno Amirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +1:25
7. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) +1:25
8. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +1:27
9. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) +1:39
10. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +1:41

>> The results of the Dauphine at a glance

How the 5th stage of the Criterium du Dauphine 2024 went

Shortly after the start of the race, three riders broke away from the peloton: In addition to Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Adne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), the holder of the mountain jersey Mathis Le Berre (Arkea-B&B Hotels) also made it into the leading group of the day. Despite further attacks from the peloton, no other rider was able to catch up.

Le Berre collects mountain points

Meanwhile in the peloton, the Lidl-Trek and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale teams took over the chase. They wanted to ensure that their sprinters Mads Pedersen and Sam Bennett took the stage win on stage 5. That's why they didn't let the lead grow too far and kept the trio on a tight leash. Mathis Le Berre continued to collect mountain points in the breakaway group and extended his lead in the classification.

First falls

Rain set in as the race progressed, making the roads increasingly slippery. As a result, breakaway rider Adne Holter crashed first. Although he caught up with the leaders a little later, he was unable to keep up with the high pace of the leading duo shortly afterwards. This left only two riders at the front of the peloton with 46 kilometres to go. Afterwards, there was also a crash in the peloton on a descent, in which Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Wanty) was involved, among others. Many riders were able to continue after the crash, only Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny) had to abandon. The interim lead of less than a minute of the breakaway riders Bayer and Le Berre therefore increased again.

Race is neutralised

Around 20 kilometres into the final descent of the day, there was a big crash involving large parts of the peloton. After around half an hour, the race was neutralised and continued. The riders crossed the finish line together in Saint-Priest without a winner.