Olav Kooij wins again during the sprint of the 5th stage of Paris-Nice

At the end of the long (193.5 km) and grueling fifth stage, with a raid sequence between Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut and Sisteron, we wondered how many runners were going to look at the finish line with the thought of imposing. The end of the stage itself was set for him but the day was not and Caden Groves, Fabio Jacobsen and Arvid de Klijen opted to stop. Others decided to hang on to the region’s slides and they were right, starting with winner Olav Kuij ahead of Mads Pedersen and Pascal Ackermann.

The 22-year-old Dutchman, who gave the former world champion a good ride, didn’t really have to work hard if all his opponents understood they had to get in his way. But they lacked interest after a day chasing the breakout started by Frenchman Pierre Latour from the start and on which few customers grafted themselves (Frenchmen Alexis Gogard, Sandy Dujardin and Pierre Latour, Belgians Dries de Bond and Victor Campenaerts, Dutchmen Pascal Ankhorn).

There was no respite from the end of the trip and, in the final bump, 10 kilometers from the end, Quentin Pecher shook up the peloton with Mads Pedersen and Christian Scaroni, followed by Alexander Vlasov in front of Brandon McNulty before Remko Pedersen picked up. Scattered pieces of the peloton never able to breathe.

“With the headwinds, it was a really tough dayKuij told Eurosport. Controlling a break-away is always complicated, we had to work all day. » With this 32nd victory, at the age of just 22, the Wisma rider, who was already victorious in the first stage at Les Mureaux, was rewarded and welcomed. “A Very Good Week” Which is not finished, except for runners. Now, the usual favorite – Australian Luke Plapp keeps his yellow jersey – will have to explain himself until Sunday.