Stewart beats Milan in powerful sprint to win stage five of the Dauphiné, Evenepoel crashes in finale

Wednesday’s time trial, won by Evenepoel, had created the first real time gaps among the general classification contenders. However, Thursday’s stage was expected to be a calmer day for the GC riders. The 183-kilometer route from Saint-Priest to Mâcon included some hills, giving attackers a chance to shine. But there was also the question of whether Lidl–Trek would control the race for Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan, who had already won a stage earlier this week.

Right from the start, it was Dutchman Enzo Leijnse (Picnic PostNL) who accelerated with Pierre Thierry (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon AG2R). The trio was allowed to ride away from the peloton, while Bastien Tronchon from AG2R La Mondiale tried to bridge the gap. The Frenchman from AG2R La Mondiale ended up in a chasse patate, after which the trio at the front continued to pull away. They gained just over two minutes of advantage.

Still, the peloton quickly began to close the gap. Israel–Premier Tech and Lidl–Trek led the chase, bringing the breakaway back to within a minute. That was the cue for Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa–B&B Hotels) to attempt a bridge to the leading trio. They succeeded fairly quickly, forming a front group of five. However, the peloton continued to trail by less than a minute.

Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel saw teammate Louis Vervaeke abandon the race after a crash, and Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin–Deceuninck) also withdrew during stage five. As the race approached the hilly section, with four categorized climbs ahead, the leaders managed to stretch their advantage slightly. At the start of that section, Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers), Mathieu Burgaudeau, and Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies) launched attacks, but they too ended up in a chasse patate.

Just as the chasing trio was about to be caught, a new wave of attacks launched. Alex Baudin (EF Education–EasyPost), Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar), and Tobias Bayer (Alpecin–Deceuninck) surged forward. Due to the high pace of the EF Frenchman, Bayer had to drop out rather quickly, while Burgeaudeau and Vercher were also unable to keep up. Meanwhile, Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana), seventh in the general classification, abandoned the race after injuring his fingers in a crash.

Shortly afterward, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) suffered a mechanical issue at a rather unfortunate moment, but thanks to strong teamwork, the German made it back to the peloton. As Baudin, Foss, and Mühlberger trailed the five leaders by about half a minute, the fifth stage claimed yet another victim. Pascal Ackermann, who had helped put Israel–Premier Tech on the front to set up a sprint finish, crashed and appeared to give up quickly. The German climbed into the team car, bringing his Dauphiné campaign to an early end.

With 46 kilometers to go, the chase effort by the trio came to an end as they were swallowed up by the peloton. Once again, it was Lidl–Trek setting the pace, as the German-American team had its sights set on a sprint finish for Jonathan Milan. The high tempo left little motivation for any new attacks, while the gap to the breakaway, still pushing hard at the front, steadily decreased.

On the final climb of the day, it was Mathieu van der Poel’s Alpecin–Deceuninck squad that took over at the front, setting off alarm bells in the peloton. This prompted Remco Evenepoel, along with his key rivals Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), to move up to the front. The pace from Alpecin–Deceuninck put several riders in difficulty, with Thierry being the first from the lead group to drop off.

After the final climb, the peloton rapidly closed in on the remaining breakaway riders, with the brave Enzo Leijnse being reeled in a bit earlier than his fellow escapees after a tough day at the front. In the peloton, Louis Rouland of Arkéa–B&B Hotels suffered a heavy crash, with the French team losing several riders before the finale. Up front, the breakaway trio managed to slightly extend their lead again, with the gap hovering around ten seconds for quite some time.

Labrosse, Thomas, and Guernalec gave absolutely everything, but with just under two kilometers to go, the trio was finally caught. That left little time to set up a proper sprint, although Lidl–Trek appeared to have their timing well under control. The German-American squad had their lead-out train perfectly organized, but it was Jake Stewart who delivered the surprise of the day. With a powerful sprint, he won stage five of this year’s Dauphiné, shortly after we saw Remco Evenepoel hit the ground. Fortunately, the Belgian completed the stage without losing any time.