Results Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Stage 5 - Wout van Aert powers to first victory since Paris-Roubaix after Visma control quiet sprint stage

Wout van Aert claimed victory on stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after Team Visma | Lease a Bike helped turn one of the quietest days of the race into a controlled sprint finish in Villars-les-Dombes.

After Quinn Simmons had denied the peloton on stage 4, the fifth stage brought a far more disciplined chase from the bunch.

Pepijn Reinderink, Thibault Guernalec, Julen Arriolabengoa, Felix Engelhardt, Hugo Houle and Robbe Dhondt formed the early move after the opening climbs of the Cote de la Croix Blanche and Col de la Gachet, but the escape was never given the same freedom that had shaped several earlier days in the race.

The break carried the main attacking thread through the long middle section, with Arriolabengoa crossing first at the intermediate sprint in Blace. Reinderink was later rewarded with the combativity prize, but the peloton kept the six leaders within reach as the stage flattened out towards the finish.

The contrast with stage 4 was clear. One day earlier, the bunch had arrived too late as Simmons sprinted to victory from the break, leaving the fast finishers to fight only for minor places. This time, the chase remained calm, organised and close enough to prevent another long-range ambush.

The gap dropped steadily as the race moved towards Villars-les-Dombes, and the break was caught with just over 10 kilometres remaining. From there, the sprint teams took over on a relatively straightforward run-in, with few technical complications before the final straight.

Visma moved Van Aert into position in the closing kilometres, with Edoardo Affini taking a key role in the lead-out before the Belgian launched his sprint. INEOS briefly came over the top in the final kilometre, but Van Aert was still well placed when the sprint opened.

After missing out behind the break the previous day, Van Aert made no mistake this time. He powered clear in the finale to take the stage win and give Visma another success after their team time trial victory earlier in the race.

The result gave the peloton the sprint finish it had missed on stage 4, while the GC contenders came through a calmer day before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes turned back towards the mountains.