"Pau has the world's most beautiful view of the earth just as Naples has the most beautiful view of the sea," the 19th century French polymath Alphonse de Lamartine said of the Pyrenean city where stage five of the Tour de France began, and where many of the teams will be heading after an electric stage on Wednesday.
Opinion will be split, however, on just how beautiful the view is from Pau, or just how beautiful the Pyrenees are, now. While some, like stage winner and new yellow jersey Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), or the resurgent Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) can reflect on beauty on their drive back to Pau, others will not be as lucky. Unlike the last time the Tour came to Laruns, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was not victorious, and ended up conceding 1-38 to Hindley and 1-02 to Vingegaard.
