Dutch rider Olav Kooij won a chaotic bunch sprint to claim stage five of the 2026 Tour de France, holding off Germany's Max Kanter with Belgium's Tim Merlier third. The victory was notable as Kooij, 24, was competing in the Tour for the first time and had been a late addition to the Decathlon CMA CGM squad after illness disrupted the start of his season, making the win an emotional return to form.

The 158.3km stage from Lannemezan to Pau ended in disarray, with a crash just over five kilometres from the line. Norway's Torstein Traeen retained the overall leader's yellow jersey despite being caught in the pile-up, finishing 14 seconds behind Kooij alongside general classification contenders including reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. Traeen leads the standings by 28 seconds from American Sean Quinn, while Pogacar, bidding for a fifth title, sits fourth at seven minutes and 53 seconds down, level with Vingegaard.