On the fifth day of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the sprinters finally got their chance. After 197 kilometres from Saint-Chamond to Parc des Oiseaux Villars-les-Dombes, Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) claimed the stage victory. Thanks to excellent work from his teammates on the inside track, the Dutchman won ahead of Hugo Hofstetter (NSN Cycling Team) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious). Hofstetter, in particular, was visibly frustrated by his defeat after crossing the finish line.
Sprint teams have everything under control
It was also the last chance for the sprinters in this stage race. That’s because the remaining three days of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes all finish with a mountain finish. As a result, the sprinters’ teams were under a bit of pressure on this stage.
Just the day before, they had misjudged the situation whilst chasing a ten-man breakaway and were pipped to the post by a matter of seconds. This time, however, they left no doubt from the outset that there would be a mass sprint finish. The leading group, led by Felix Engelhardt (Jayco – AlUla), was caught twelve kilometres from the finish.
There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Alex Baudin (EF Education - EasyPost) retained his yellow jersey for another day. The Frenchman continues to lead the general classification by twelve seconds ahead of Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley (both Netcompany – Ineos). However, the coming days are likely to bring changes.
Results – Stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes 2026:
Here’s how the 5th stage of the Tour of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
The breakaway of the day formed just a few kilometres into the first climb, the Côte de la Croix Blanche (Category 4). Pepijn Reijnderink (Soudal – Quick-Step), Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies), Julen Arriola-Bengoa (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), Felix Engelhardt (Jayco – AlUla), Hugo Houle (Alpecin – Premier Tech) and Robbe Dhondt (Picnic – PostNL) were subsequently granted a lead of around 2 minutes 30 seconds.
Pepijn Reijnderink took both the first mountain classification and the second, shortly afterwards at the Col de la Gachet (both Category 4). The day’s route included a total of 2,500 metres of climbing. However, the riders had already covered this distance early on. In the peloton, Visma | Lease a Bike, Cofidis and Bahrain Victorious worked hard to keep the gap under control for their sprinters.
Consequently, with 50 kilometres to go, their lead had shrunk to just 1 minute 30 seconds. With 12 kilometres to go, the breakaway was caught. After that, the stage belonged to the sprinters’ teams.
