Olav Kooij Wins in Chaotic Sprint as Rule Changes Shape Modern Tour Racing
Stage 5 was finally a normal first week stage. An easy breakaway went early, the sprinter teams chased all day, and we saw a flurry of action after the KOM with a couple breakaways going. Then it all came back together. The big chaotic peloton charged down into the final 25 to 10 kilometers. Then came the dramatic crash that always happens in these first stages, the chaos that separates the GC riders, and finally, a sprint from a reduced group.
Olav Kooij won the stage, and while it might have seemed shocking, it actually makes perfect sense. Kooij comes from Decathlon and has a history of winning races. He's a great sprinter, very aggressive, and can fight for position. He took advantage of Astana's fantastic lead out train by jumping early and getting a gap that was impossible to close in the chaos.
But the real story from Stage 5 goes much deeper than who won the sprint. It's about how rule changes have fundamentally changed the way the Tour de France is raced in the final kilometers, and how those changes affected the outcome today.
The Critical Importance of Teammates in Sprinting
Most people fancy themselves as local criterion sprinters or group ride sprinters. That's difficult enough when you're only racing against one or two other riders. But in the Tour de France, you're fighting with 180 other riders. Many of them don't care about the sprint. They're worried about staying out of danger, avoiding crashes, or not losing time on GC.
So sprinters are dealing with GC riders, dealing with riders working for other sprinters, and dealing with their own teammates trying to keep them in position and at the front of the race.
To be a sprinter in the Tour de France, you need help. You need a team.
The crash that happened at 5.5 kilometers to go caused a lot of teams to lose riders. Either they were in the crash or delayed by it. Because of that, many sprinters didn't have the help they needed in the final. Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen were just a little bit back, and while they still came forward and the cream rose to the top, they weren't in ideal position.
Olaf Coy took advantage by jumping early from behind Astana's lead out train, slingshotting around, and applying power right away. At that speed, if you get a gap, it's hard to come back with all the chaos and people everywhere. You're in one line. You have to go straight. You have to go forward. If you're not in position, like Merlier who was 10 riders back, you have to deviate your line to get around people.
Rule Changes That Have Shaped Modern Tour Racing
Here's what most people don't realize: the way the Tour de France is raced today is fundamentally different from how it was raced even 10 or 15 years ago, because the rules have changed. These changes have made a massive difference in how the final kilometers are contested.
Rule Change 1: The Crash Time Rule
There used to be a rule that if there was a crash, they would take the time at 3 kilometers to go. That rule was extended to 5 kilometers to go. Today was 5k to go.
But the crash happened at 5.5 kilometers to go, which was outside of that rule. So the people that got split, the people that never came back and never connected with the peloton, went through that 5k mark in the peloton and were given the time gap they arrived at the finish line with. There was no grace period. Nothing like that.
This matters because as you get closer to the finish line, the intensity and the need for teammates ramps up. If you have a GC rider trying to make it two more kilometers closer to the sprint, they're basically interfering with sprinters trying to stay with their lead out trains. That changed dynamic is huge.
If you watch the race going into the last 10k, last 15k, even going into the 25k, there are no GC riders at the front. There are no GC teams pulling at the front. That's completely different from how the race used to be raced.
Rule Change 2: The Time Gap Rule
The other major rule change is about the time gap given at the finish line. Now, the time gap in sprint stages is only given if the gap is more than three seconds between the rider in front and the gap between the gap and the last rider. Three seconds at 60 to 70 kilometers per hour is a massive space.
When riders raced in the old days, the time gap was basically one second. If you weren't one second behind, you weren't given one second. You were given the actual time you crossed the line versus when the first rider crossed. So if you were in 50th place, you might have crossed the line 14 seconds behind the winner, even though the person directly in front of you was only a little bit ahead with just a little daylight.
Now they've changed it to three seconds, which is a big gap. What that's done is allowed riders in these final bits to relax when they're coming into the sprint. They don't need to ride super close to each other because if someone loses the wheel but can close it at least to three seconds, there's no time loss at all.
The Result of These Changes
These two rule changes have created a more relaxed situation in the peloton. However, today there was almost some major drama because all the GC riders were split behind the crash at 5.5k, and there was a real possibility that some of them wouldn't get back up before the 5k mark. That would have cost them significant time. Fortunately, they managed to get back, but it was close.
The way the final was ridden, it was much less chaotic than it normally would have been. The GC teams were protected better. The rule changes fundamentally changed how the stage played out.
Tomorrow's Tourmalet Stage is Going to Be Epic
Tomorrow is the Tourmalet stage, and this is where things get interesting. Will Tadej Pogačar attack? Will Jonas Vingegaard attack? Will Del Toro attack? The possibilities are endless.
Some have speculated that Jonas might attack the Tourmalet. But here's the real question: will his teammates be able to set a pace that drops Del Toro? That drops Adam Yates? That drops Brandon McNulty? Probably not. And if Tadej still has one, two, or three teammates with him, Jonas attacking would be a tactical mistake.
For Jonas to attack successfully, Tadej would need to be isolated or down to one helper, and Jonas would need to know he can go faster than that helper. We haven't seen that yet.
So my guess is that Visma's strategy tomorrow will be to follow, limit losses, and try to stick with Tadej. If they can get to that last climb fresh, it will be harder for Tadej to drop him completely.
But Tadej is on a revenge tour. He's not thinking like Sky or Froome used to think. He's thinking like Alberto Contador. He's going to be aggressive. It's possible he could attack over the top and get a significant time gap. It's possible Del Toro could attack at the base and Tadej lets it go. There are so many possibilities.
The UAE director recently said he thought Jonas would attack tomorrow. Tom thinks that might be psychological warfare. If Jonas reads that he's supposed to attack, maybe he gets nervous and decides to sit tight instead. Or maybe the director is just messing with him.
Either way, tomorrow is going to be action packed. Two of the best climbers ever in the sport of cycling are going to race the Tourmalet. That's must watch television.
The Evolution of Climbing Technique and Training
As a climbing connoisseur, I love to see climbers rip these mountains. What's most interesting is how different the climbing performances are from his era. The pedaling technique, the approach, the way riders train their engines has evolved significantly.
Back when I raced, there was a big focus on threshold and pretty much one pace, one power. Nowadays, riders have found ways to train all different zones. You're not limited to one lactate threshold. You can create efficiency in all different areas around that.
Riders are finding ways to pace climbs differently, using teammates strategically, using different zones, and finding ways to create more strength through higher cadences and better technique. This is massive and will be a topic for deeper podcast discussions as the mountains unfold.
Looking Ahead
Stage 5 was a chaotic sprint stage that showed how far the Tour has come with rule changes designed to protect GC riders and make the racing safer and more strategic. Tomorrow, the mountains arrive with the Tourmalet, and everything we've learned about Tadej's aggression and Jonas's struggles will be put to the test.
This Tour de France is shaping up to be one for the ages.
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to tomorrow's stage.
