
Congratulations to Belgium's and team BMC rider Greg Van Avermaet for capturing not only the stage win but also securing his first Tour de France yellow jersey in a stirring performance on yesterday's stage 5. Van Avermaet was allowed to lead an early breakaway of 9 riders that reached an astounding 15 minutes ahead of the peleton, and was easily able to outlast the other riders and secure the win by nearly 3 minutes over Thomas De Gendt and over 5 minutes from the peleton containing the top contenders for this years tour. While Van Avermaet is not considered a threat to the overall GC contenders of this years tour, this win on an atypically early mountain stage could keep him in yellow for quite some time, until they reach the high mountain passes and mountain top finishes of the Pyrenees. It is unlikely any of the lead teams will expend much energy trying to track him down.
American Tejay Van Garderen continues to impress, finishing with the main pack of contenders and holding his position in the GC standings. Vincenzo Nibali, the winner of this years Giro d'Italia, fell on hard times and lost ground, as did perennial favorite Alberto Contador, who has fought valiantly after a series of crashes in the opening days of the tour. He was able to hang on the the back end of the lead group of contenders until the very end climb, where he was dropped and lost valuable seconds.
Yellow - Greg Van Avermaet
Green (Sprint Points) - Peter Sagan
Polka Dot (Mountains) - Thomas De Gendt
White (Young Rider) - Julian Alaphillippe