Tour de France 2023 Stage 5 recap – Triumphant Jai Hindley in yellow as Vingegaard breaks Pogacar

So, was winning the stage and taking the yellow jersey the plan this morning?

“No, not really. I was sort of improvising out there and enjoying some bike racing. I just managed to find myself in that group and, yeah, I enjoyed it out there.

"It’s really incredible. I have no words. The guys in the radio were just screaming at me to ride to the line. I couldn’t really hear so much what was happening. I just wanted to take as much time as possible – and also the stage win – and, yeah, found myself in the yellow jersey, so that’s pretty cool.

"I didn’t know what to expect – it’s my first Tour and it’s hard to come here with massive ambitions. But for sure I wanted to come and be competitive and have some form of success – and I’ve just won a stage of the Tour."

Here's the new provisional top 10 after a thrilling opening stage in the Pyrenees:

1. Jai Hindley
2. Jonas Vingegaard +47
3. Giulio Ciccone +1:03
4. Emanuel Buchmann +1:11
5. Adam Yates +1:34
6. Tadej Pogacar +1:40
7. Simon Yates +1:40
8. Mattias Skjelmose +1:56
9. Carlos Rodriguez +1:56
10. David Gaudu +1:56

1. Jai Hindley
2. Giulio Ciccone +32
3. Felix Gall st
4. Emanuel Buchmann st
5. Jonas Vingegaard +34
6. Mattias Skjelmose +1'08"
7. Daniel Martinez st
8. Tadej Pogacar st
9. David Gaudu st
10. Carlos Rodriguez st
11. Jack Haig st
12. Sepp Kuss st
13. Simon Yates st
14. Valentin Madouas st
15. Adam Yates st

It's the Danish champion Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) who leads the Pogacar group home at 1'38" which means the Slovenian two-time winner will concede 1'04" to the defending champion.

The Italian from Lidl-Trek outkicks Felix Gall of AG2R-Citroen as the chasers come home around 32 seconds down. Emanuel Buchmann takes fourth place and goes straight to his Bora team-mate Hindley to congratulate him on his win. Vingegaard misses out on the bonus seconds as he takes fifth - but he will put a big dent into the hopes of his rival Tadej Pogacar today.

The Giro champion from 2022 now leads the Tour de France just five days into his first ever appearance in the world's biggest bike race - what a win for the Bora-Hansgrohe man.

Jai Hindley will turn this Tour de France on its head with a maiden stage win and the yellow jersey in the Pyrenees. What a ride this has been from the Australian, who comes under the flamme rouge...

The yellow jersey has joined his co-leader Pogacar in a group of around eight riders now - but they are still 1'50" down on lone leader Hindley and over a minute down on Vingegaard, so it will be a dark day for UAE. The likes of Gaudu, Rodriguez, Simon Yates, Skjelmose and Madouas are all there as well.

The Australian still has 48 seconds to play with as he passes under the 5km banner. It's a quartet in pursuit but one that lacks cohesion because Buchmann, understandably, is a total passenger because his team-mate is up the road. Ciccone doesn't appear to have anything left, while Gall knows he has already secured the polka dot jersey.

It's far from a given for Jai Hindley who, until 20 minutes ago, looked a shoo-in for yellow and the stage win. He's now 48 seconds clear of Gall, who is about to be caught by the Vingegaard group. Barring misfortune, the Australian should win and take the race lead - but he can't afford to sit up and savour the moment until he crosses the line.

As for Pogacar, he's still one minute down on his big rival, so it will be back to the drawing board in his attempt to win back his Tour crown.

It's a heart-in-mouth descent for fans - especially when following the erratic Gall, who almost overcooks a series of bends. The Austrian is 35 seconds down on Hindley, with Vingegaard now riding with Ciccone and Buchmann at 58 seconds. Pogacar, meanwhile, has Vingegaard's team-mate Kuss sandbagging his back wheel. They are with Martinez and Haig around two minutes down.

The Australian crests the summit of the Marie Blanque with 20 seconds on Gall, who will be the new polka dot jersey. Ciccone and Buchmann are the next over - but then Vingegaard, who is riding like a man possessed, passes at 1'05" having swallowed up Haig and Martinez. Pogacar is another 40 seconds behind. What a tense finale it's going to be. Hindley should still win this stage but he can't afford to make any mistakes... As for Pogacar, it's all about limiting his losses and keeping his cool. What a statement today by Vingegaard.

The defending champion puts in a stinging attack after some solid groundwork from team-mate Kuss. He opens up a gap on Pogacar, who is doing his best to limit his losses. But the Dane looks very much in control as he soars past remnants of the breakaway - including team-mate Benoot, who clenches his fist and offers encouragement as he whizzes past.

Jai Hindley rides clear of Felix Gall with 1.5km to go to the summit - but the cameras are sticking to the GC favourites where Vingegaard - being paced by Kuss - has gone clear with Pogacar. They have managed to drop the yellow jersey Yates, plus his twin brother, Rodriguez, Gaudu and the others. The race is well and truly on.

It's all kicking off in the group of favourites where Jumbo Visma have come to the front with Sepp Kuss riding hard for Jonas Vingegaard. They have been joined by Van Aert, who was dropped from the break. And their pace-setting has seen many go off the back, including Majka and the 2019 champion Egan Bernal. Carlos Rodriguez is still there, ditto Yates and Pogacar, Gaudu and Simon Yates.