How GC contender Jonas Vingegaard narrowly avoided disaster in hectic finish to Stage 5 of 2026 Tour de France
‘We feared this’ – The Stage 5 crash that nearly put a dent in Vingegaard’s Tour hopes
Video credit: TNT Sports
Vingegaard was involved in a crash on a chaotic day of action, but managed to avoid giving up precious seconds to his general classification rivals, most notably Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
The crash, which happened with just over 5km remaining, came outside the day’s established safety zone and needed some quick thinking from Visma to get Vingegaard’s race back on track.
And afterwards, Visma team director Marc Reef explained the Dane managed to not suffer a huge setback in his quest for a third yellow jersey.
“We heard that Jonas was also in the crash, or somewhere involved. Then he immediately got the bike from Victor [Campenaerts], the boys were with him pulling hard for him, and in the end, I think everybody that we see now is on the same time at the finish,” Reef told reporters, per Cycling News.
“We knew that it was a tight corner, also with the sidewalk on the right side, or a small higher line, we knew that corner was coming. The moment how we approached the final was just good, we were together, but in the hectic crash, I think in the end, Jonas got the bike from Victor, we rode hard to the line, and it finished all on the same time.”
Olav Kooij (Decathlon-CMA CGM) came out on top in the first sprint finish of the 2026 Tour, powering to the line ahead of Max Kanter (XDS Astana) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step).
Highlights: Kooij delivers on debut with impressive Stage 5 win
Video credit: TNT Sports
Vingegaard finished in 53rd position, 14 seconds behind Kooij but, importantly, crossed the line in the same group as Pogacar.
Campenaerts, comparatively, finished 4’50” behind Kooij after having to wait for a Visma car to bring him a new bike.
The peloton takes on the mighty Tourmalet in a challenging mountain stage on Thursday, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, which should give Vingegaard and Pogacar the opportunity to flex their muscles.
And Reef said the whole Visma team is looking forward to the challenge ahead, despite an eventful Stage 5.
“We are heading into tomorrow’s stage with a good feeling,” he said. “Jonas is in a good position in the general classification and feels strong.
“We are heading into tomorrow’s stage with confidence.”
In the race for the yellow jersey, Vingegaard is in fifth position, tied with Pogacar in fourth, both of whom are 7’53” behind leader Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Mobility). Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.Stream the Premier League, men’s and women’s FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
