Kooij leaves Pedersen without a win again and Plapp keeps the lead

Mads Pedersen will have nightmares with Olav Kooij. And the fact is that the result was the same on the days when the Dane chose to win at Paris-Nice. The Dutchman (22 years old), winner. The Dane in the slipstream. The result of the fifth stage of the Carrera del Sol was identical to that of the first, but with a small nuance: Kooij didn’t need it Photo finish because he was infinitely superior to Pedersen and the other sprinters. Fourth win of the season for Visma, which puts him on par with his partner Jonas Vingegaard. The lead, on another quiet day for the favorites, continues to rest on the shoulders of Luke Plapp.

Tensions dissipated at the end of yesterday’s stage Evenepoel complained that the UAE Don’t shoot to hunt Buitrago At the last port that could defend McNulty’s lead, a new chapter of the Carrera del Sol began. This time the rays of Helios were a blessing for the runners, who had to endure quite a bit of cold and some rain in the previous stages. This made them more bearable 193.5 km had to be overcome with the finish in Sisteron, plus a total of four ports, all of them in the 3rd category. A low mountain menu that could become a dream vacation as long as the peloton retreats.

Dries de Bondt, Alexis Gougeard, Mathijs Paasschens, Mathias Norsgaard, Pierre Latour and Sandy Dujardin made the escape. The latter was the best placed overall with 12 minutes lost of those who had fled, so that the interests of the leader Plapp were not jeopardized. Nevertheless, the peloton kept them at bay throughout the course, as the small hill 11.5km from the finish line provided play and reward for some brave men. Just before that The escapees raised a white flag, but the favorites wanted nothing to do with the battle. Another day of saving gunpowder.

Everything was ready for a new mass sprint, in which he would not take part this time Arvid de Kleijn. The Tudor rider, winner of the second stage of this edition, abandoned the race halfway through the stage. In any case, Pedersen’s chances of success increased with the reduced competition. The Dane took the lead in the sprint, but Kooij waited patiently for his moment to come with enormous power and win easily. This Friday more demand with the Côte de La Colle-sur-Loup (1.8 km at 10.1% average) in the final section of the stage. The favorite has to take a step forward.