A sprinter’s delight is usually described as mostly flat terrain. In this year’s Tour, there has been nothing yet to set the stage for the world-class sprinters to show off who is best in class this summer, until today in Stage 5.
Our journey began in Lannemezan and would eventually end Pau. The last visit the Tour made to Pau was in 2024, Jasper Philipsen extended his notoriety as the next big thing in sprinting. This time was different, as Tim Merlier of Soudel Quick-Step held the expectations being the greatest sprinter entering the tour this year.
Today’s journey began quite the opposite of Stage 4, as Baptiste Veistroffer of Lotto Intermarché jumped out front to take the lead. Unfortunately, the rest of the peloton decided it was his day to suffer alone. If not victory, at least he could inspire hope and be a wonderful billboard.
Around 15km to go, Veisstroffer is swallowed up by the rest of the pack. No one even bothered to look at him or congratulate him on the pain he endured.
Everyone inside the last 5km gets the same exact time. The majority of the time, this has no effect on anyone. Today however, an uproar was caused, as a huge wreck into the traffic furniture occurred at 7km to go. To make things worse, the Yellow Jersey of Torstein Træen was caught up behind this wreck minding his own business.
With the sprinters and leaders all spread out after the late crash, the stage win was now open for anyone. With no teams pushing any star sprinters forward, the Tour rookie, Olav Kooij of Decathlon CMA CGM shot forward, leaving no doubts on his way to a commanding victory.
With the future of French cycling on his shoulders, Kooij’s victory now takes the pressure off of his phenom teammate Paul Seixas, as he will seek to be an underdog for the yellow jersey for years to come.
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