The finish in Pau, after 158 kilometres, was a frantic one. Several crashes, caused by traffic islands and bends, meant that hardly any team was able to execute their lead-out as planned. Astana and Kanter navigated the bends best. However, it was still not enough to beat Kooij, who nominally has a support rider in his team but was left to his own devices in the final metres. The Dutchman surprised not only Kanter but also the rest of the field with an early surge, thereby celebrating his first victory at the very first opportunity on his Tour debut.

​“After a few tough days, I had to wait until today to get my first chance to sprint in the Tour de France. To win straight away is incredible,” the 24-year-old said himself in his winner’s interview. “It means a great deal to me. I had a difficult spring. You need a few people who believe in you to get back to this level and to believe in yourself again.” However, after a persistent viral illness in the winter, which forced Kooij to take a break from racing until the end of May, he came back all the stronger. In the two stage races Kooij competed in before the Tour, he claimed victories, including against Merlier and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin – Premier Tech). It was his 51st career victory.

For Kanter, on the other hand, it was yet another second place. But compared with the many other second and third places he’d secured throughout the season in smaller races, this was one he could live with. “I think that was a pretty good start for us. The timing was spot on and we can build on that,” he told Eurosport. “My team did a brilliant job. My legs felt good today. Kooij came up from behind with a bit more speed. By then, the gap was already there. I tried once more to get into his slipstream, but the gap was simply too big.”

Traeen takes a tumble in the final but retains the yellow jersey

The other two German sprinters failed to finish in the top 10. Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) came twelfth, whilst Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain - Victorious) finished 18th on his 32nd birthday.

There were no changes to the overall standings. Although Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Mobility) also went down during the frantic finale, he ultimately got away without losing any time thanks to the 5-kilometre rule. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Florian Lipowitz and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) also lost no time.

There were no changes in the special classifications either. Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek), who finished seventh on the day, retained his green jersey. Kanter, however, made a big leap up the standings there, having also finished second in the intermediate sprint and won the bunch sprint in the process. Only the day’s sole breakaway rider scored more points there. The mountains’ jersey remains with Alex Baudin (EF Education – EasyPost), whilst Mathias Vacek (Lidl – Trek) remains the best young rider.

2026 Vuelta a España – Results of Stage 5

Here’s how Stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France went

With temperatures not quite as high – 33 instead of 40 degrees – but with a headwind and a mass sprint expected in Pau, there was just one professional who wanted to spend the day as a breakaway rider. Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) launched the first attack straight after the starting gun, but nobody was willing to follow him. Immediately after the Frenchman broke away, the peloton spread out behind him to prevent further attacks and thus look forward to a relatively relaxed day.

Veistroffer, who had spent most of Stages 2 and 3 riding at the back of the peloton to support his captain, Arnaud De Lie – who was ill and eventually withdrew from the race – found himself with a gap of just under four minutes on the peloton relatively early on. However, once Soudal Quick-Step and Alpecin – Premier Tech began to set the pace, the gap settled at just under three minutes.

At the intermediate sprint 45 kilometres from the finish, Veistroffer secured 25 points for the sprint classification, in addition to a lead of two and a half minutes. What happened behind him, however, was more significant. Kanter sprinted to 20 points ahead of Pedersen without much opposition. After that, however, the lead began to shrink more rapidly. At the 30-kilometre mark, the 26-year-old had a one-minute lead. Five kilometres later, at the mountain classification, Kasper Asgreen (EF Education - EasyPost), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) and Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) seized the opportunity presented by a small surge to break away from the peloton. However, they were unable to catch up with Veistroffer. He was eventually caught 14 kilometres from the finish.

Just over five kilometres from the finish, several riders crashed at a roundabout, including three of Merlier’s support staff. The peloton subsequently split up and, due to a tricky approach featuring further bends, roundabouts and traffic islands, failed to regroup. Over the final kilometres, the peloton split up further, though this was now covered by the regulations without issue due to the 5-kilometre zone. In the final stretch, Astana formed the strongest breakaway, with Kanter well positioned by his team. However, the German was unable to respond to Kooij’s early sprint. Although Kanter managed to maintain the gap that had opened up, he was unable to overtake the Dutchman. He did, however, manage to keep Merlier at bay and thus finished second.