Kooij wins in Pau after a chaotic finish as Træen stays in yellow

08 Jul 2026

Olav Kooij won stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de France, finishing in Pau, on a day that looked set to end in a straightforward sprint but ultimately delivered far more drama than expected. The Dutchman used his turn of speed in a reduced group to take his first stage win at the Tour, a hugely valuable result for both him and his team.

The stage was marked by a crash just over five kilometres from the finish, which split the peloton and put several riders out of contention for the win. The incident caused confusion in the main group, with teams trying to reposition their leaders and riders focused on reaching the line without losing time. In that tense scenario, Kooij kept his cool and finished the job in the closing metres.

One of the main figures caught up in the scare was Jonas Vingegaard, who was affected by the crash and had to finish the stage on a teammate's bike. Despite the incident, the Dane managed to salvage the day without significant damage to his general classification position, avoiding a time loss that could have affected the rest of his Tour.

In the overall standings, Torstein Træen held onto the yellow jersey after a dangerous stage, with no major changes among the favourites. The day leaves a twofold takeaway: a prestige win for Kooij and a serious warning for every general classification contender, who were reminded once again that at the Tour, even a seemingly quiet stage can turn into a trap.