Simon Clarke sprints to stage 5 win as Wout van Aert retains overall lead at Tour de France 2022 - Results
The 35-year-old Australian took a photo-finish victory after a 153.7km-stage from Lille Metropole to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut.
Cycling Road
Australian Simon Clarke won the fifth stage of road cycling's 2022 Tour de France on Wednesday (6 July).
The 35-year-old rider of the Israel-Premier Tech team, who had joined an early five-man breakaway, edged Taco van der Hoorn of the Netherlands in a close sprint in Arenberg after an animated cobbled stage. Norwegian Edvald Boassen Hagen finished in third.
Clarke took his first stage victory at the Tour becoming the 14th stage winner for Australia at the Grande Boucle:
"The stage that I've won at the Vuelta before and the jersey I got at the Giro were all in the first week, in the first couple of stages, so when the team manager came to me this morning I thought, 'Maybe today is the day'," said the winner after the race .
"After the winter I had no team, then Israel-Premier Tech team rang me up and said, 'we give you that chance.' That gave me a reality check and I tried to make the most out of every opportunity since," he added.
2022 Tour de France: Stage 4 results - Wednesday 6 July
- Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) 3:13:35
- Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) +0:00
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Total Energies) +0.02
- Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) +0:04
- Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) +0:30
In a stage that featured 11 cobbled sections, Wout van Aert crashed with just over 95 km to go but managed to work his way back and hold on to his lead in the general classification by just 13 seconds from Neilson Powless.
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line in seventh but managed to gain time on the other pre-race favourites.
2020 runner-up Primoz Roglic conceded more than two minutes to his compatriot, while Jonas Vingegaard limited his losses on the Slovenian to 13 seconds despite a puncture and three bike changes.
On Thursday, the peloton will ride through the Ardennes, including 70km in Belgium, in the 219.9km-stage from Binche to Longwy, the longest leg of this year's edition, featuring a hilly finale suited for puncheurs.
Here is everything you need to know about this year's Tour de France.
2022 Tour de France: General classification standings after stage 5 on Wednesday 6 July
- Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 16:17:22
- Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) +0:13
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Total Energies) +0:14
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0:19
- Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) +0:25
Full rankings are available on the official Tour de France website.
Schedule and stage winners: Day-by-day route of 2022 Tour de France
Fri 1 July: Stage 1 – Copenhagen-Copenhagen (time trial, 13.2 km) - Won by Yves Lampaert (Belgium), who also took the yellow jersey for overall lead of the race's general classification.
Sat 2 July: Stage 2 – Roskilde-Nyborg (202.5 km) - Won by Fabio Jakobsen (Netherlands). Wout van Aert (Belgium) claims overall race lead.
Sun 3 July: Stage 3 – Vejle-Sonderborg (182 km) - Won by Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands). Wout van Aert (Belgium) retains overall race lead.
Mon 4 July: Transfer Day - from Denmark to France.
Tue 5 July: Stage 4 – Dunkerque-Calais (171.5 km) - Won by Wout van Aert (Belgium), who retains overall race lead.
Wed 6 July: Stage 5 – Lille Metropole-Arenburg Porte du Hainaut (157 km) - Won by Simon Clarke (Australia), Wout van Aert (Belgium) retains overall race lead.
Thu 7 July: Stage 6 – Binche-Longwhy (220km)
Fri 8 July: Stage 7 – Tomblaine-La Super Planche de Belle Filles (176.5 km)
Sat 9 July: Stage 8 – Dole-Lausanne (186.5km)
Sunday 10 July: Stage 9 – Aigle-Chatel les Portes du Soleil (193km)
Monday 11 July: Rest Day
Tuesday 12 July: Stage 10 – Morzine Les Portes du Soleil-Megeve (148.5km)
Wednesday 13 July: Stage 11 – Albertville-Col du Granon Serre Chevalier (152km)
Thursday 14 July: Stage 12 – Briancon-Alpe d’Huez (165.5km)
Friday 15 July: Stage 13 – Le Bourg d’Oisans-Saint Etienne (193km)
Saturday 16 July: Stage 14 – Saint Etienne-Mende (192.5km)
Sunday 17 July: Stage 15 – Rodez-Carcassonne (202.5km)
Monday 18 July: Rest Day
Tuesday 19 July: Stage 16 – Carcassonne-Foix (178,5km)
Wednesday 20 July: Stage 17 – Saint-Gaudens-Peyragudes (130km)
Thursday 21 July: Stage 18 – Lourdes-Hautacam (143.5km)
Friday 22 July: Stage 19 – Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors (188.5km)
Saturday 23 July: Stage 20 – Lacapelle-Marival - Rocamadour (time trial, 40.7km)
Sunday 24 July: Stage 21 – Paris La Defence Arena – Paris Champs Elysees (116km)