Van Aert wins five sprint at Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes

Wout van Aert answered questions about his form with a commanding sprint victory on stage five of the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes on Thursday, June 11. The Belgian rider for Team Visma Lease a Bike won the 195.8-kilometer stage from Saint-Chamond to Parc des Oiseaux in Villars-les-Dombes, holding off Hugo Hofstetter and Phil Bauhaus in a high-speed bunch finish.

The win was Van Aert's first since his Paris-Roubaix triumph in April and came after a difficult start to the race, which included a training crash just before the event and being dropped during his team's winning effort in the stage three team time trial. After the finish, Van Aert acknowledged the challenging week, stating that winning in a major race was always special and crediting his team for chasing the breakaway all day to set up the sprint.

The stage was the only clear opportunity for sprinters in the eight-day race, following three previous road stages that were won by breakaway riders. An early six-rider escape formed, but the peloton, led by teams including Visma, Cofidis, and EF Education-EasyPost, controlled the gap throughout the day. The break was caught with 12 kilometers remaining, setting up a frantic finale.