Tour de France 2018, stage five LIVE: Peter Sagan wins sprint in Quimper ahead of Sonny Colbrelli and Philippe Gilbert
Peter Sagan showed why he is world champion and the favourite for the green jersey
Stage four was, for the most part, a relaxing jaunt but stage five of this Tour de France will be much tougher: the peloton face 205km of rolling up-and-down racing over five categorised climbs which, for the first time this year, will really drain the legs.
The day begins in Lorient and snakes north to Quimper. Much of the climbing is over short sharp ascents on narrow roads which will test the will of the sprinters desperate to get to what is an inviting finish for them to attack. Peter Sagan will fancy the win, as might punchers like Greg van Avermaet and even climbers like Geraint Thomas, as Chris Froome aims simply to stay safe.
Click on stage 5 to refresh our interactive tracker:
How to watch on TV
The stage will be shown live on Eurosport and ITV from 12pm.
Prediction
Michael Matthews has barely featured so far in this Tour – this might be his day to shine.
Odds
Peter Sagan 11/8
Michael Matthews 7/1
Julian Alaphilippe 9/1
Sonny Colbrelli 8/1
Greg van Avermaet 12/1
Stage four highlights
Hello, and welcome to stage five of the Tour de France, where things are about to get a bit tougher for the peloton. The day begins in Lorient and snakes north to Quimper, with 205km of rolling up-and-down racing over five categorised climbs which, for the first time this year, will really drain the legs. Here's our stage five preview:
Here's the man in yellow, Greg van Avermaet, discussing yesterday's stage four and the day ahead:
"[The end of stage four] was a lot of tension, a lot of stress, the team did incredible work for me and Richie [Porte]. For us it was a really good day. I'm happy this stage is done. I think [today] is going to be one of those days which is a small classic in a grand tour, which is always a pretty hectic and hard day, so we’ll see how the legs are."
135km to go
The roads have narrowed and the peloton has been strung out as a result. They remain around 3 min 45 sec behind the breakaway as the leading seven approach the intermediate sprint point, which they might fancy contesting purely for the cash prizes on offer, and for our amusement.
Sylvain Chavanel took the intermediate spring and will claim the polka-dot jersey.
Here's the full results as Fernando Garvia beats Peter Sagan
1. Sylvain Chavanel, 20 points
2. Nicolas Edet, 17
3. Jasper De Buyst, 15
4. Elie Gesbert, 13
5. Julien Vermote, 11
6. Lilian Calmejane, 10
7. Tom Skujins, 9
At 3’50’’:
8. Fernando Gaviria, 8
9. Peter Sagan, 7
10. Alexander Kristoff, 6
11. Arnaud Démare, 5
12. André Greipel, 4
13. Max Richeze, 3
14. Marcel Kittel, 2
15. Ilnur Zakarin, 1
92km to go
Mark Cavendish goes over as the peloton reached the top of the climb. He was briefly detached from the group but is gradually working his way back, this is going to be a very tough day for Cavendish, his race may well and truly be over. There's no immediate sign of any of his teammates dropping back to help him catch the group and avoid missing the time delay.
81km to go
The peloton is 3'45'' behind lone leader Sylvain Chavanel.
Meanwhile, Elie Gesbert is currently working his way out of a ditch after veering off the road, he was part of the chasing group but has now dropped back towards the peloton after trying to keep up with the counter attacking quintete.
75km to go
Direct Engine's brave approach could pay off and be a masterstroke. Sylvian Chavanel remains the solo leader with a 45 second lead on the six-strong chase group where his teammate Lilian Clamejane is watching on.
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