With five stages in the books, Romain Bardet is sitting 12th overall, 2:36 behind new leader of the race, Jai Hindley. The leader of Team DSM-firmenich rode the final climb tactically, at his own pace, crossing the line in the group with Ben O'Connor or Michael Woods, to name a few.
"In the beginning of the race it was already very fast, before the race situation had settled down for a while. In the end, things went fast again in the final," said the French climber. "We rode up the Marie Blanque really fast and I think everyone settled into place very quickly. I just rode at my own pace."
In the front, Jai Hindley managed to take the double. "Jai has ridden very well, I really see it as inspiration and I am happy for him," said Bardet about his former teammate. "We now have to find an opportunity to also gain time, as we are close to each other in the standings with many riders at the same level."
#TDF2023 stage 5 reaction from @romainbardet 💬"The beginning of the race was really hard today, before it settled again, and then went hard in the finale. We went up the Col de Marie Blanque really fast and everyone was quickly in their place. I just rode my own pace."
