Date: Thursday, July 15
Distance: 152.5km
Start location: Bastogne
Finish location: Amnéville
Start time: 11:55 CEST
Finish time: 15:48 CEST
Bastogne is inextricably linked to cycling as the turning point for the Ardennes Classics race Liège-Bastogne-Liège. However, the Belgian city has its own cycling history having hosted the men’s Tour de France in 1976 when Aldo Parecchini soloed an astonishing 170 kilometres to the finish in Nancy to win the stage. In 2014, the town was also the starting point for Flèche Wallonne, the year Alejandro Valverde won the race for the second time, and it also is the birthplace of Maxime Monfort, a former professional cyclist turned assistant sports director at Lidl-Trek.
The women’s peloton will be familiar with starting a race in Bastogne with their edition of La Doyenne leaving from the city centre. However, in this race, they won’t be heading for Liège, they will be heading in the opposite direction to the border, where the Tour de France Femmes finally enters into France. On their way out of Belgium, the peloton will face one category three climb, the Côte de Hott, before tackling three category four climbs when they reach France and head to the finish in Amnéville. It will be a relentless day of ups and downs for the peloton with 1,753 metres of elevation, but could be a prime opportunity for the breakaway to make it all the way to the line with plenty of launchpads over the course of the 152km stage.
The arrival into Amnéville will not be an easy win however, as the spa town’s finish line will be in front of the Amnéville thermal baths, which sits atop a ramp that starts at a 6% gradient and then averages out to 4% as the finish line approaches. The punchy riders of the bunch will be licking their lips at this stage and the challenging final kilometre will make it a nail-biting finish.
Stage profile sourced via ASO
Contenders
Stage five may be classed as a 'flat' day by the race organisers, but the parcours are certainly far from flat, with five categorised climbs that equate to almost 2,000 metres of climbing. But with three big stages looming, this is an ample chance for the breakaway to get away and hunt down a stage win.
Fenix-Deceuninck have made it clear that they are in this Tour to win stages and animate the race – something they were renowned for in last year's edition, too. Puck Pieterse beat yellow jersey Demi Vollering to the line on stage four in Liège and is now at the top of the leaderboard for both the polka dot jersey and youth classification. With 11 KOM points on offer on stage five, she may be keen to strengthen her lead on those classifications. Other riders in the Fenix team who could look to get into the break will be Yara Kastelijn and Pauliena Rooijakkers.
EF-Oatly-Cannondale is also another team with multiple riders to send up the road. Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner could make a move in the hopes of securing a stage win, or Noemi Rüegg, who placed fifth on stage four. Alison Jackson could also be a card the team could play if she can get into the break. Movistar will also want to be a part of the action with Emma Norsgaard or Floortje Mackaij.
Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) was on a rampage for as many QOM points as she could get during stage four and now she sits just one point behind Pieterse. She'll be keen to establish a break so she can continue her quest for the polka dot jersey, especially with so many on offer once again. Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) could also be a contender for the stage as could Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny) – both are strong riders over this type of terrain.
The intermediate sprint is also 45km from the finish line and therefore, we may see sprinters such as Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) working for the stage to go their way. They are both strong sprinters with the ability to climb well, and with both of them missing out on stage victories in the opening two stages, and this being the last opportunity for a sprint before the big mountains, we may see them in the mix for stage victory.
Other riders who could be in contention for the stage win will be Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez), Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM), and Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal Team).
Stage five winner prediction
We are backing Marianne Vos to take the stage win in Amnéville.
