Tour de France stage 5 LIVE result: Tadej Pogacar takes time from rivals as Simon Clarke wins stage
LIVE – Updated at 17:50Tadej Pogacar passed his first Tour de France test with flying colours when he gained time over all his rivals on the cobbled roads in a vintage fifth stage on Wednesday. The two-time defending champion, who was expected to suffer on the 19km of cobbles peppering the 157-km ride from Lille, finished 51 seconds behind stage winner Simon Clarke of Australia but left the overall contenders behind. “It was a really good day for me, I didn’t have any bad luck and I felt good on the cobbles,” said Pogacar, who as a professional has never taken part in the Paris-Roubaix cobbled classic.