Wout van Aert is feeling better

Cor Vos

On Wednesday, the sprinters who braved the mountainous Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes were left rueing a missed opportunity after a failed catch of the day's breakaway on one of the few days in the race built for a bunch finish. They left little to chance on Thursday's stage 5 and wouldn't you know it, it was Visma-Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert – best of the bunch on Wednesday – who came out on top, this time for a stage win instead of 11th place.

The 195.8 km stage was a day of two halves: a lumpy opening act that predictably sprung a breakaway free, and then a flat second scene that played out as a tussle between the escapees and the chasing sprinters.

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