Stage 5

The road

How it was won

1. 1100 km to go

   An alliance of circumstance

   Frustrated by the nine-man break's refusal to work, Greg Van Avermaet and Thomas De Gendt simply ride away from it with almost 100km still to race, Grivko the only man to follow. Their lead will grow to fifteen minutes.

2. 231 km to go

   Nibali cracks on the Pas de Peyrol

   Movistar light the fuse on the steep category 2 ramps and the Massif Central heat does the rest. Vincenzo Nibali is spat out and will lose 13:45, his Tour effectively over; Sagan and Dumoulin go too, and only 25 favourites remain at the summit.

3. 315 km to go

   Van Avermaet drops De Gendt

   On the stiffest slopes of the Col du Perthus, inside the last 15km, Van Avermaet senses he has the beating of his compatriot and simply rides away from him.

4. 43 km to go

   Bardet dislodges Contador

   A sharp acceleration from local man Romain Bardet over the top of the Font-de-Cère strings the favourites out inside three kilometres from the line, and Alberto Contador is immediately dropped. He will not get back on.

5. 5At the line

   Van Avermaet into yellow

   Greg Van Avermaet rolls into Le Lioran 2:34 clear of his old breakaway companion and more than five minutes up on Froome and Quintana — a stage win and a yellow jersey the Belgian never dared plan for.

The result