“I don’t know how anyone is going to beat him" - Tour de France green jersey battle begins as Armstrong puts spotlight on Vingegaard for stage 6
CyclingThursday, 09 July 2026 at 09:41
Stage 5 of the Tour de France looked, on paper, like the first big chance for the pure sprinters, and the finale did not disappoint. In a bunch sprint shaped by a late crash, Olav Kooij opened his account at the French Grand Tour with a burst of speed that left The Move’s panel astonished.
Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins, George Hincapie, and Spencer Martin broke down a seemingly quiet day that still delivered several key takeaways for the rest of the Tour.
Although the headline act was the Dutchman from Decathlon CMA CGM, much of the show focused on the points classification, which, according to the analysts, could become one of the defining stories of this edition.
Olav Kooij’s performance surprised even those who know sprinting best. Armstrong admitted that none of the panel had picked the Dutchman as the stage favourite beforehand, although he acknowledged the rider’s numbers fully justify his level.
“He has 51 professional wins in just five years. That’s extraordinary,” the American noted.
“I don’t know how anyone is going to beat him"
George Hincapie was especially struck by how Kooij closed out the sprint: “I don’t know how anyone is going to beat him,” he said after watching the finish replay. “His speed was incredible. He blew the doors off Merlier and Philipsen.”
For Armstrong’s former teammate, the win was even more remarkable because the Dutchman had to all but launch the sprint without a fully formed lead-out after the crash-induced chaos.
A finish shaped by crashes
The outcome was conditioned by another spill inside the final kilometres, which also involved the race leader, Thorsten Træen. Armstrong again criticized certain route features that, in his view, continue to create unnecessary risks.
“That street furniture is why the crash happened,” he argued.
The American also highlighted traffic islands and obstacles protected only by straw bales as major hazards in urban finales. Despite the incident, Træen finished without major consequences and kept the yellow jersey.
Torstein Traeen, líder del Tour de Francia
The big fight for the green jersey
One of the central topics of the episode was the points classification. Mads Pedersen remains clearly ahead thanks to his outstanding start to the Tour, but Armstrong believes the battle for green is still wide open.
“Mads has 143 points, but there are five riders behind within just nine points,” he explained.
The American thinks that, for the first time in several years, the points race could deliver more drama than the contest for yellow: “We’re really locked into the fight for green this year,” he said.
Spencer Martin agreed and noted that Pedersen holds a significant advantage over his rivals. The Dane can score not only in bunch sprints but also on rolling stages where sprinters like Kooij, Merlier, or Philipsen find it much harder to stay in contention.
Bradley Wiggins highlights Pedersen’s strength
Although Olav Kooij took the stage, Bradley Wiggins picked Mads Pedersen as the day’s standout rider. The Briton recalled the huge effort the Dane had made just 24 hours earlier in Lidl-Trek’s winning break.
“After yesterday’s effort, to switch back to sprinter mode and finish seventh is a great result,” he said.
According to Wiggins, that seventh place could prove far more valuable than it seems, allowing the Dane to keep padding his lead in the points classification. George Hincapie also believes Pedersen remains the leading favorite to win green in Paris.
Could Pogacar also target green?
One of the most curious moments came when Armstrong floated a hypothesis that would have sounded impossible not long ago: “There’s a world in which Tadej Pogacar can win the green jersey,” he said.
The Slovenian already sits near the top thanks to his results in the opening stages, and both Armstrong and Spencer Martin believe that, without specifically targeting it, he could remain high on the leaderboard for much of the Tour.
That said, all agreed that UAE Team Emirates-XRG will not change its strategy solely to chase that secondary classification.
Tadej Pogacar, UAE star
Win eases pressure at Decathlon
Kooij’s victory was also analysed from the team’s perspective. Spencer Martin noted that Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has entered a new sporting phase after the arrival of major sponsors and significant investment.
“There was a lot of pressure on the team, especially because their GC leader is only 19 years old,” he explained.
For Armstrong, landing a win this early completely changes the mood inside the French setup. “This victory takes a huge amount of pressure off them,” he said.
The American believes that reaching the first major mountain stages with a win already banked will allow them to race far more calmly.
An increasingly demanding Tour
Although stage 5 was relatively calm for much of the route, the analysts stressed that the high temperatures continue to increase the peloton’s fatigue. Bradley Wiggins recalled that riders are turning more and more to ice baths immediately after the finish to speed up recovery.
Armstrong explained that Pogacar uses this kind of cooling system almost every day and acknowledged that the heat could become one of the race’s decisive factors.
According to the American, many riders are even suffering severe foot pain due to the high road temperatures.
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Armstrong puts the spotlight on Vingegaard
Although the stage was entirely suited to the sprinters, the show also addressed Jonas Vingegaard’s situation.
In recent days, images had appeared of the Dane wearing a protective mask, sparking rumours about a possible health issue. Armstrong admitted that the image caught his attention as well.
“We saw him with an N95 mask and we all wondered if he was trying to avoid getting sick,” he explained.
Bradley Wiggins recalled that Vingegaard himself had said it was simply a preventive measure after some illness cases were detected around the Tour. George Hincapie added that the real test will come in the first major mountain stage.
“If you’re sick, the Tourmalet won’t hide it,” he remarked.
Jonas Vingegaard, a global cycling star
All set for the first major test
The conversation ended by focusing on stage 6, seen by everyone as the first major turning point of the Tour. Armstrong noted that the route includes the Col d’Aspin and the Tourmalet in conditions that could reach around 37 degrees at the start.
“It’s going to be a very long, very hard day,” he warned.
Bradley Wiggins lamented that a day with two such iconic climbs does not finish uphill, though he acknowledged that this design could encourage long-range attacks and a much more open race.
After several days shaped by sprints and tactics to control the yellow jersey, The Move is clear that the Tour is about to change gear. Olav Kooij’s victory confirmed the emergence of a new contender for the green jersey, but all eyes now turn to the Tourmalet, where Pogacar, Vingegaard, and the rest of the favourites will face the first true test of this edition.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- So happy for Kooij! Was my favorite pic for the fast man, but i am really hoping MADS can finish with the Green Jersey on Montmatre (21 stage)!!Alexcavalera09-07-2026
- Funny but not funny. I'm actually pissed. Sorry but not sorry.
parisbound0009-07-2026 - I expect they have no jurisdiction over that, sorry. Maybe ask the police? Besides, that’s like stopping people from throwing drinks (even in football stadiums) hard to be in the right place before it takes place to do something about it. Now, if other members of the public had a bit more civic courage to have a word sometimes, maybe everyone would behave a little more in line.Jumpyjohn09-07-2026
- Congrats! Love it when sprinters win without having to rely on a “sprint train lead out”b3tlla09-07-2026
- Commissaires fined 500 CHF for not adjusting the rules to environmental conditions and situations on the road.itsent09-07-2026
- Why do you post nonsensical comments Mou(se) ?frieders309-07-2026
- Lance who?frieders309-07-2026
- Proofreading isn't this sites strongpoint!frieders309-07-2026
- Stop doing drugs, it's not working for you.awp08-07-2026
- What part of "nothing against Pogi or any of the riders" do you not understand? Totally feels like you're just constantly trolling. Some people find Pogi's dominance boring because it makes them wonder why anyone should bother racing. Personally, I like Pogi, and enjoy watching him race. I think we're witnessing history. To my mind, he's the best rider the world has ever seen. I also think MvdP is one of the greatest classics riders we've ever seen, and Jonas is one of the greatest GC riders we've ever seen. The fact that Pogi conistently beats both of them just shows how great he is. But being critical of petro-states spending exorbitant amounts of money on sports teams is not the same as criticizing riders. Suggesting that spending caps might be good for parity between teams is not the same as criticizing riders. So none of this diminishes his achievements. It's obvious to everyone here that you'd be honored the hold the pan while he took a dump in it, and so I guess I sort of understand your constant knee-jerk reactions to anything that is remotely critical of anything within Pogi's field of vision. But grown-ups are capable of nuanced understanding. Guess what? It's okay to love Pogi, and still understand and acknowledge that the UAE is a shitty petro-state theocracy whose leaders abuse and suppress women. It's still okay to love Pogi, and consider that cycling might be more interesting to watch if teams like UAE and Visma didn't have unlimited budgets to surround their stars with so much talent that no one else can even get within sniffing distance of a win. Capish?DAS08-07-2026
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