Olav Kooij wins Tour de France Stage Five in Pau
Stage five of the 2026 Tour de France ran from Lannemezan to Pau over 158.3 kilometres. Dutch rider Olav Kooij of Decathlon CMA CGM secured his first Tour stage victory, beating Germany’s Max Kanter into second place and Belgium’s Tim Merlier in third. A crash with just over 5 km to the finish fragmented the peloton and disrupted several lead‑out trains, allowing Kooij to sprint ahead of the reduced front group.
Norway’s Torstein Traeen retained the yellow jersey, finishing 14 seconds behind Kooij, while the general‑classification contenders – defending champion Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and France’s Paul Seixas – remained in the same time gaps. The incident also affected other sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay. The stage outcome sets the scene for the upcoming mountain stages, including the Tourmalet, in the Pyrenees.
Key quotes: Kooij said, “I had to wait for this day to get my first chance to sprint in the Tour and to win it is unbelievable.”