Welcome to the 5th stage of this year's Paris - Nice! We're done with the first half of the race, and today it's the shortest non-TT stage awaiting the riders. Only slightly more than 150 kilometers - but despite being rated flat, it's quite a bumpy stage!
The race kicks off in Pernes-les-Fontaines, a commune with about 10,000 inhabitants. One of its historic buildings - and of its neighboring communes - is the "Plague Wall", or "Mur de la peste" in French. This is a wall built up in the 18th Century in an attempt to stop the Black Death. Ramparts were built as well, and the location was cut from most external contacts. While not 100% efficient, the commune counted much less fatalities than many other places.
Today, the doors are open though, allowing the riders to leave the place heading South - mostly. After a detour to the North, the riders will tackle today's sole category 2 climb, the Col de Murs, culminating after 43 kilometers. Expect a hectic start of the stage, given those early 10 points on offer!
Later on, we'll have two 3rd category hills in quick succession, the Côte de Lacoste (77km) and the Côte de Bonnieux (85km). We also have two intermediate sprints separated by just 15 kilometers, in Lourmarin and in Rognes.
After a final category 3 climb - the Côte de Saint-Canadet after 125 kilometers - the remainder of the stage is pretty much downhill and flat. However, riding into Aix-en-Provence, the road rises again within the final 5 kilometers to flatten out towards the finish line.
Today, however, the character that will draw most attention to him will be the stage winner! Can Coquard make it 3/3 sprint stages? The bookies definitely can see that happen, as he once again gets three stars alongside Gaviria and Ewan. Hsu, the invisible Samolenkov and points leader Kemboi get two stars, with red lantern Lo Cicero, Van der Sande, Moser and Stallaert completing that list.
Are you ready for some action? With 28 KoM points available, we sure can expect some fireworks, as even the KoM jersey is within anyone's reach today! Let's go!
Stocek is today's first attacker, Vahtra tries to catch up early on.
Lampawog and Turner decide that there's room for some more escapees today, let's see if the pack agrees!
Jacobs tries to join them, but Koumpetsos doesn't look too amused about the race situation. Full speed by the Greek!
After having brought back the Swiss, he gets some helpf from Darbinyan and Brockhoff in an attempt to reel in the remaining escapees as well.
In the end it's Koumpetsos who easily catches Turner and Lampawog again. The sprinter teams - and ELCO - ABEA in particular - just don't want even medium-sized breakaways in this race it seems.
Stocek is still going solo up front, with Vahtra fighting hard - but so far in vain - to catch up. Leung and Nych are trying to ride away, too, but that's not an easy task with their skillset if Sendeku is chasing hard on the uphills... Gayral and De Bod have joined the chase as well by the way.
Before we even reach the first KoM climb, all but one escapees are caught, as Vahtra has finally given up. Stocek is about a minute ahead, but he doesn't look very fresh anymore, either.
After an attack by Bagioli, Nieuwenhuis, Muhindo, Carr and Jungels led nowhere - Sendeku vetoed that move - it's now Nych and again Jungels who try their luck. At least they already have a 25" gap, so this attack could actually stick!
They're already about to catch Stocek, but the Slovak doesn't look like he'll be much of a help for them.
And indeed, as soon as the leaders hit the first slopes of the Col de Murs, Stocek is gone. The pack is about 1'30" behind, and with that 10km climb ahead, it looks pretty likely that they'll at least fight for 3rd place.
Nych is the only breakaway rider having already some KoM points (6); he'd need 18 out of 28 points available to at least tie Sosa for the KoM lead. Arriving first on top of this not very difficult Cat. 2 climb would certainly help getting there.
But the peloton took it so easy that Stocek actually has extended his lead to more than a minute - while trailing the leading duo by 1'30". Nych and Jungels are about to launch the sprint for maximum points, while further back it's Narvaez, Bagioli and Lastra attacking in an attempt to pick up some minor points!
Nych just outlasted Jungels in the end, as both weren't really capable of sprinting anymore. Those 10 points make him jump to 2nd in the virtual KoM standings - at least before the attackers from the pack arrive on top.
Stocek indeed salvaged a few meters ahead of the aforementioned trio, taking 3rd place on the Col de Murs. Behind, Bagioli narrowly outsprints Lastra, while Narvaez doesn't get any points here. Let's see what that means in terms of numbers:
Bagioli defends his 2nd place, moving within 6 points (equivalent to a Cat. 3 KoM sprint) of the lead. Nych is now up to 3rd, but has the advantage of being roughly 3 minutes up the road. A maximum of 18 points is still available.
The two leaders took it rather easy on the descent and the following flat-ish section, allowing Stocek to almost connect, and the peloton to reduce the gap by a minute.
But now the Côte de Lacoste awaits them - 3.4km with roughly 5% average slope - so the pace will surely increase up front in the fight for points!?!
This time it's really a sprint, and Jungels pips Nych to the line. Stocek is still ahead of the pack and picks up the final points:
Nych only needs 4 more points to draw level with the current KoM leader - given that the next KoM sprint is already in 7.4km, he's almost granted to take at least 4 points there, being two minutes ahead of Stocek and an additional one to the bunch.
This is the start of the Côte de Bonnieux for the leading duo - and the comparison to the foot of the previous hill clearly shows how much Stocek must be suffering. He had almost rejoined them 8km ago, now he's just barely ahead of the peloton.
By the way, the Côte de Bonnieux is the steepest climb so far today, with just above 6% average slope. But it's only 2km long, so basically a long sprint for the points!
And it's a sprint that Jungels wins again, as Nych so badly wanted to get full points that he just overpowered and didn't have enough left in the end. Still, with those 4 points he's at least our new virtual KoM Co-leader.
Stocek was finally caught on the lower slopes, meaning that there are still two points available for 3rd place - points that Bagioli picks up again!
Nych is now tied with Sosa on 1st place, while Jungels and Bagioli are tied for 3rd. One more KoM sprint left, though!
The peloton is now almost 3'30" back, with 70km to go.
But before the final categorized hill, we have two intermediate sprints. Nych wins the first one, while back in the pack the top sprinters are preparing to fight for the last 2 points!
It's a very close fight, but once again Coquard has the edge over the rest. Ewan and Gaviria came close, but not close enough. So what does that mean?
This means that we do not only have tied KoM leaders, but tied points leaders as well, as the Frenchman draws level with Kemboi's 54 points now!
The escapees are looking more and more exhausted, allowing the pack to quickly close in - but Nych still manages to win the second sprint as well. 17 kilometers to the final KoM climb - can they hold on?
Further behind, Coquard now ensures the exclusive points lead, winning the sprint against Ewan with a bigger margin this time. Gaviria didn't even care - maybe because he was frustrated of all those near losses, or he just wants to save some energy for the final sprint.
The breakaway indeed makes it to the foot of the Côte de Saint-Canadet, but with an advantage of just 53". Luckily for them, the climb isn't very long nor very steep, so they might indeed beat the pack for those points - unless there are some early attacks behind!
There are attacks - again by Bagioli, Lastra and Narvaez - but they are too late. Nych wins the final KoM sprint of the day and takes back the KoM jersey!
Narvaez beats his two rivals this time and collects his first points of the day as well:
While Nych now has a 6-point advantage, Jungels ties Sosa for 2nd place. Bagioli and Narvaez are 4th and 5th.
And the leading duo has a 40" advantage left for the final 30 kilometers - probably not enough...
Indeed, with slightly more than 20km left, the peloton - still led by the never tiring Sendeku - catches first Jungels and little later Nych as well.
Can someone upset the sprinter teams with a late attack now, or will we get the third "Sprint Royal" in as many flat stages?
With 10km to go, ISA - Hexacta and ELCO - ABEA are still setting a horrendous pace, discouraging all potential attackers. No more Isostar domestiques up front, though, while Gaviria's leadouts are already close to their leader.
5km left, and the sprinter teams are starting to build up their sprint trains. Koumpetsos is already ahead of Coquard, while Bouglas is still behind him. Rickaert and Peak are close to Gaviria, while the train Baska - Santos - Ewan is the best looking currently.
All the notable sprinters are somewhere close to the front - except... yeah. Samolenkov again decides not to show up, after he even was active in an intermediate sprint!
3 kilometers to the line, and we have two trains looking really well now: Rickaert - Peak - Gaviria Koumpetsos - Bouglas - Coquard
Santos has quite a gap to close to catch up with Baska, while Pinot is between the Brazilian and Ewan - not the most ideal preparation for ISA - Hexacta.
Currently those sprinters are lined up behind Gaviria: Hsu, Silvestre, Van der Kooij, Lo Cicero, Swift and Stallaert.
Behind Ewan, we see Abdul Halil, Einhorn, Moser, Dainese, Riabushenko, Larsen, Van der Sande and Kemboi. As a reminder, the latter has dropped behind Coquard in the virtual point standings and would need to beat the Frenchman to claim back the lead!
There are just 2km left, and the first leadout riders have now completed their task! Peak is leading Gaviria on the final straight, while Coquard actually has taken the latter's wheel instead of following Bouglas! Ewan is right there as well, with all others latching on behind!
Hsu however clearly doesn't have an optimal position, as he's already in the wind! Most others are lined up behind Ewan, while Stallaert is behind Koumpetsos.
1,500m to go, and the other two top sprinters have finally decided to trust their leadouts more than Gaviria! Hsu says Thank You and takes the World Champion's wheel, while Bouglas and Santos are now trying to bring Coquard and Ewan up to full speed! Peak is currently leading the race though, with Gaviria perfectly positioned in his slipstream!
Silvestre and Stallaert are behind Ewan, and are followed by Swift, Van der Kooij, Lo Cicero, Einhorn, Abdul Halil, Riabushenko, Moser and Dainese.
By the way, Kemboi has now even dropped behind Samolenkov! Horrible positioning by the green jersey!
Under the Flamme Rouge, the three leadouts are almost level - but Santos still has quite a big gap to Ewan. Not optimal!
Great positions though for Coquard and Gaviria, as well as Hsu and Silvestre who have one of the top sprinters ahead each!
Bouglas has done the best job of the leadouts, as he's still ahead of Coquard, while both Gaviria and Ewan had to leave their leadout's slipstream!
Hsu is trying to find his way between Peak and the ELCO - ABEA riders, while Silvestre might struggle with the traffic right ahead of him. Swift has a lot of space, but is already in the wind, with Van der Kooij and Lo Cicero coming next.
Gaviria has a narrow edge over Coquard on the final 500 meters, that duel could come down to the wire!
Hsu is looking great for a podium finish today, having taken 3rd place - but don't write off Silvestre, Ewan or Van der Kooij yet!
Lo Cicero and Swift are one bike length behind; all others are even further back and don't look great for the top spots!
Coquard has now taken the lead with just 300m left to the line! Gaviria is still going almost as fast, though, so it will come down to who has more left in the tank!
Silvestre has now passed Hsu for 3rd, while Ewan and Van der Kooij are surging as well!
It's sooo close! Gaviria clearly hasn't thrown in the towel yet, and gives Coquard a great fight for the stage win!
Silvestre now looks to be set for 3rd - or even more?
Impossible to say who's in the lead currently, but with 100m to go it clearly looks like the winner will be Gaviria or Coquard, as Silvestre doesn't come any closer.
Hsu and Ewan are currently battling it out for 4th, while Van der Kooij is almost level with them, too! Stallaert on the other hand doesn't look to get back in contention for the Top5.
Lo Cicero vs. Swift and Riabushenko vs. Einhorn are the duels for 8th to 11th - at least one of them will miss out on the Top10 by the looks of it!
Just 50 meters to the finish line, and Coquard is looking to go 3/3 now! Fantastic sprint by the Frenchman once again!
But in the end it's Fernando Gaviria who takes the win! The World Champion strikes back on the final meters, as Bryan Coquard ran out of energy a tad too early! Congratulations to the Colombian, and thanks to both for a great nailbiter!
Fabio Silvestre then is safe in 3rd place, taking home a nice podium spot from this race!
Just like Coquard, Caleb Ewan loses one spot compared to the two previous sprints, and finishes 4th today. The timing of his leadout wasn't perfect today, which might have made the difference.
Hsuan Ping Hsu might be slightly disappointed with 5th as he held onto a podium spot until the last few hundred meters, but it's still not a bad sprint. The same holds for Bas Van der Kooij in 6th.
Joeri Stallaert actually cracked a bit in the end, and was almost outsprinted by Aliaksandr Riabushenko! But the Belgian salvages 7th, as the team's second best sprinter today.
The final Top10 spots go to Ivano Lo Cicero and Ben Swift, while Einhorn, Moser, Dainese and Abdul Halil miss out mainly due to bad positioning heading into the sprint. Bernal then picks up the last point of the day as the strongest GC rider of the stage.
By the way, the high tempo combined with the hilly parcours caused some casualties today, with the most notable riders dropped being Elosegui (20th GC) and Bernard (31st GC).
Third time's the charm for Fernando Gaviria! After a 4th place on stage 2 and a completely messed-up sprint preparation on day 3, his leadouts delivered him in a perfect position today, and he had enough power left to pip Bryan Coquard to the line today! Well done!
The latter can still be happy, with two wins and a second place out of three sprint stages, though! Fabio Silvestre will also be happy with today's 3rd place, a great stage podium for wildcard team Bralirwa!
We had no GC-relevant actions today, so there's no change in the Top10 positions. Louis Meintjes stays in yellow, 3" ahead of Ivan Sosa and 9" ahead of Davide Formolo. Let's see what tomorrow's big mountain stage will bring GC-wise!
He may have narrowly missed out on the perfect yield of the three sprint stages, but Bryan Coquard still gets something to celebrate today - he takes the clear lead in the points standings! The Frenchman now has 76 points, which is 22 more than Kemboi who didn't score today.
Caleb Ewan now has the exclusive 3rd place, just 6 points behind 2nd. There might be one more opportunity for the sprinters to score, especially for those who handle hills well, on stage 7. But it will be tough for both sprinters and GC riders to dethrone Coquard now!
He was the first KoM leader of the race, then lost the jersey yesterday, only to take it back today - Artem Nych definitely showed a great performance today! Clearly not the most gifted KoM hunter, he played it smart to join a very small breakaway, upping his tally to 30 points.
Previous KoM leader Ivan Sosa and Bob Jungels both trail the Russian by 6 points - but the former should have a great opportunity of taking it back tomorrow!
Even though he lost the KoM jersey, Ivan Sosa won't be wearing his normal team jersey tomorrow, given that he still leads in the U25 standings. Egan Bernal and Petr Rikunov are 28" and 50" down respectively.
And no changes either in the team standings, where De Stijl Cycling keep their 36" and 44" advantage over Team Popo4Ever and cycleYorkshire.
The flat stages are over now, bring on the mountains! Tomorrow will see this tour's Queen stage, with the arrival on top of the Montagne de Lure - see you then!
Paris - Nice 
