Chaos reigned in the Hell of the North as the fifth stage of the Tour de France hit the dreaded cobbled roads of the Franco-Belgian border, with crashes, punctures and panic, plus a stray hay bale, giving the defending champion Tadej Pogacar the upper hand after a frenzied day of racing.
With Jumbo-Visma’s leader Primoz Roglic spreadeagled on the road, the Slovenian double Tour winner made hay after his compatriot had been taken down by a roadside bale, designed to steer the riders safely through a roundabout. Even the seemingly super-powered Wout van Aert, winner of stage four, crashed, and was called on to try and help his embattled team leaders, Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, recover lost ground.
