Dutchman finishes top 10 on the wildest stage of the race so far.
Eleven cobblestone sectors, some of them borrowed from Paris-Roubaix, spiced up the first week of the Tour de France and shook up the general classification, widening the gaps between many of the yellow jersey contenders before they even hit the mountains.
From the moment the peloton tackled the first pavé of the day, chaos reigned on the roads between Lille and Arenberg, where the race returned after eight years, crashes, punctures and mechanicals hit many of the riders, including two of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, who were well-placed at the moment the mishap happened: stage 1 winner Yves Lampaert and French Champion Florian Sénéchal.
Eventually, after a fierce chase, the first yellow jersey of the race managed to return in the peloton, together with Fabio Jakobsen and Mattia Cattaneo, but the stage victory was out of the question at that moment, as the day-long breakaway was more than one minute clear with ten kilometers to go. Jakobsen was one of the riders to impress on the treacherous stage 5; despite lacking the experience on the bone-jarring cobblestones of northern France, Fabio showed a lot of composure amidst all the havoc and sprinted at the finish, taking a solid ninth place for his fourth top 10 at this edition – a result which keeps him in the fight for the green jersey.
“It was a hard and nervous day, full gas for 150 kilometers. It felt like racing in the juniors, only the speed was really high here and everybody was very nervous. Our goal was to go for a good result with Yves and Florian, but they both punctured in key moments of the race. I surprised myself with this ride and with coming back in the bunch, so give everything, I think I can be satisfied with this top 10”, Fabio explained after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
