Olav Kooij emerged victorious from the shimmering heat on Place de Verdun, clinching stage five of the Tour de France in Pau. This marked the first sprint finish of the 2026 Tour, with Kooij, a teammate of Paul Seixas at Decathlon CMA CGM, comfortably outpacing Max Kanter from XDA Astana.
Despite last year’s success, where he secured three stages in the Tour of Britain, Kooij faced uncertainty about participating in the Tour due to an ongoing illness. “I was fatigued for the initial two months of the year,” he reflected. “There were times when I was uncertain about my recovery timeline.”
“We had numerous plans, many of which had to be modified. Gradually, I gained confidence that I would be prepared for the Tour, but it was undeniably a race against time.”
The stage featured one of the limited sprint opportunities this year, leading to fierce competition for positioning. Crashes during the final kilometers hampered the race leader, Torstein Træen. However, despite the incident, there was no alteration to the overall standings for the Norwegian cyclist.
“We navigated a corner, and suddenly I found myself on the ground,” Træen recounted. “Fortunately, the Visma train led by Jonas Vingegaard was moving swiftly, allowing us to rejoin the pack.”
Despite the scare, Træen—who overcame testicular cancer in 2022 after successful surgery—expressed his enjoyment of his inaugural day in the yellow jersey. “When you face cancer, the outcome is uncertain, so I’m grateful to be back at a competitive level and leading the world’s premier race.”
On another sweltering day filled with ice vests, ice socks, and water-cooled helmets, Baptiste Veistroffer from Lotto-Intermarché took the initiative as the only attacker. The Tour newcomer faced a grueling challenge, riding solo for nearly 140 kilometers over the scorching pavement.
His lone breakaway concluded shortly after he conquered the day’s sole climb, the Côte de Baleix, as the peloton caught up with him just 14 kilometers from the finish line.
Looking ahead to Thursday’s stage to Gavarnie-Gèdre, Remco Evenepoel is set to revisit the Tourmalet, the steep ascent where he faced a disappointing exit during the 2025 Tour.
The double Olympic gold medalist has made a strong start this year but has yet to be mentioned alongside top contenders such as Seixas or Isaac del Toro from UAE Team Emirates XRG. Nevertheless, his past achievements, including a third-place finish and a victory in the Vuelta a España, keep him firmly in the conversation for a podium finish in Paris.
At 26, Evenepoel leads the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team alongside the more reserved Florian Lipowitz, who finished third overall in 2025. So far, this high-profile partnership has yet to produce standout results. Concerns about their collaboration have elicited a somewhat defensive response from Evenepoel.
“I understand your angle,” he remarked. “You want me to assert my desire for a podium finish, followed by Florian echoing the same sentiment. Of course, we both aim for the podium, but achieving that in a positive manner without negative energy benefits both us and the team.”
However, even within his team, clarity seems lacking. “Remco is still the team leader, while Florian Lipowitz is somewhat positioned as the second rider, but in terms of performance, they are on equal standing,” team manager Ralph Denk explained, adding, “They will need to compete against each other on the road.”
Any competition between them appears paused for now. The prevailing expectation is that, barring another one of Tadej Pogacar’s solo efforts, the favorites will likely conserve their energy during the Tourmalet ascent.
Træen, however, expressed uncertainty. “Tadej is Tadej,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “We’ll have to see their pace. If he pushes hard on the Tourmalet, I might find myself lagging. It’s unpredictable how much time could be lost, so we’ll just have to wait and observe.”
