Kooij wins chaotic sprint finish on stage five
Wednesday, July 08, 2026
Dutch rider Olav Kooij won a bunch sprint finish after a crash in a chaotic conclusion to stage five of the Tour de France.
The 24-year-old, who is competing at the event for the first time, held off Germany's Max Kanter, with Belgium's Tim Merlier crossing the line in third.
Norway's Torstein Traeen retained the overall race leader's yellow jersey despite being caught up in a pile up just over five kilometres from end of the 158.3km run from Lannemezan to Pau.
The Norwegian ended up 14 seconds behind Kooij, along with reigning champion Tadej Pogacar and the other main general classification contenders - two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.