The Guardian, Staff and agencies, Wednesday
9 July 2014
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| Lars Boom celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 152.5km fifth stage of the Tour de France. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images |
Lars Boom
won the fifth stage of the Tour de France while Vincenzo Nibali finished third,
19 seconds behind him, and retains the yellow jersey.
On a day of
wet weather, the route took the riders over slippery cobbled streets and last
year’s winner Chris Froome was forced to abandon the race after two crashes.
The Ypres
to Arenburg Porte du Hinaut stage commemorated 100 years since the start of
World War One and featured many of the cobbles used in the Paris-Roubaix
one-day race ‘the Hell of the North’.
Wet weather
forced race organisers to remove two of the nine cobbled sections, but Froome’s
falls came prior to the first, where the day’s racing drama began.
Boom
(Belkin) was in the day’s breakaway and proved the strongest over the cobbles
on an epic day’s racing to win by 19 seconds from Nibali and his Astana
team-mate Jakob Fuglsang.
Nibali’s
was a sensational ride from the Italian as he preserved his place in the
leader’s yellow jersey, by two seconds from Fuglsang and 44 seconds from Peter
Sagan (Cannondale).
Race
organisers removed sectors seven and five - two sections totalling 2.4km -
reducing the stage distance to 152.5km, 3km less than originally planned.
Froome’s
exit came prior to the first cobbled section, after around 70km, with seven
riders in the early breakaway. Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) lost contact with his
fellow escapees on the first cobbled section, but a 16-rider group formed with
25km, and four cobbled sections, to go. It included Nibali, Sagan, Boom and
Fabian Cancellara (Trek), many people’s tip for the stage win.
The
two-time winner Alberto Contador was over a minute behind, but as the 16-rider
lead group was stretched and then joined back together in a frantic period, the
Spaniard lost further ground.
Nibali’s
rivals continually tried to shed him from the group, but the Italian dug deep
to stick with them and his team-mates Lieuwe Westra and Fuglsang did a sterling
job at the front.
Geraint
Thomas and Richie Porte, Team Sky’s leader after Froome’s withdrawal, tried to
bridge the gap by escaping from the Contador group, the Welshman dragging along
the Australian.
The Astana
trio went ahead with Belkin’s Lars Boom with 12km to go before Westra fell away
from the leading group with 8km left.
Boom held a
commanding lead as the riders exited the final cobbled section and soloed to
victory as Nibali enhanced his advantage with support from Fuglsang. Sagan led
the second group home in fourth, 1min 01sec behind Boom, and Porte finished
20th, 2:11 behind, to move up to eighth overall, 1:54 behind Nibali.
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Sky
Procycling team rider Christopher Froome of Great Britain
gets medical
assistance after crashing down during the 4th stage of
the Tour de France 2014.
(EPA Photo/Kim Ludbrook)
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