As it happened: Selective stage 5 of Paris-Nice won by solo attack

It’s two in two for the Dane!

1:50 is Vingegaard’s lead as he nears the finish.

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Izagirre, Baudin and Soler and Onley are the riders to join the chasers.

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The pace is off in the chase group, so much so that dropped riders are returning to it.

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Vingegaard is talking to and receiving encouragement from his team car. He’s looking for as big a win as possible.

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Valentin Paret-Peintre is looking good for second. He’s over 30 seconds ahead of the the chasing group.

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Lenny Martinez leads the chasers as they start the climb.

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Vingegaard is done descending, and has started the final uncategorised 3.5km uphill to the finish.

Vingegaard leads Paret-Peintre by 1:20, and the other chasers by 1:28.

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Paret-Peintre has ten seconds on the other chasers. He has a good chance of taking second-place.

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The chasers behind Vingegaard.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Valentin Paret-Peintre tries to attack for the umpteenth time, and this time has a gap.

Vingegaard crests the climb, his lead grown even bigger, now to 1:45.

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Still the chasers attack each other, but none of them can make anything stick.

Vingegaard nears the top, with a lead of 1:10.

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Vingegaard continues to pull away, now 1:15 ahead.

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Dani Martínez, Vauquelin and Steinhauser are battling for the podium spots, of which there are only two available behind Vingegaard.

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Paret-Peintre tries an attack as the break starts the climb, but can’t get away.

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The lack of cohesion in the chase is having an effect. Vingegaard is going further and further away, growing his lead to over 50 seconds.

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Vingegaard is climbing again, up the 3.2m, 7.6% Côte de Saint-Barthelemy le Plain.

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Cohesion appears to be breaking down in the chase group. Tejada has just tried an attack on the descent.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Vingegaard hasn’t ran away with this stage. His lead is at 30 seconds, and isn’t getting any bigger.

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And now that chase group has combined with the one behind featuring Dani Martínez and Steinhauser.

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Lenny Martinez has been brought back by the chase group behind.

Vingegaard crests the climb all alone. Can Lenny Martinez and the rest make any inroads on the descent.

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The men second and third on GC, Dani Martínez and Georg Steinhauser, are further adrift.

Vingegaard leads, Lenny Martinez is five seconds behind, and a group containing Vauquelin, Onley, Tejada and Paret-Peintre about 15 seconds behind.

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Lenny Martinez is leading the chase behind, but Vingegaard already has a handful of seconds.

The race leader makes his move, 20.8km from the finish.

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Dani Martínez has been dropped. His second place on GC is in danger.

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Valentin Paret-Paintre tried an attack after Cepeda was caught, but didn’t manage to go clear.

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Cepeda has been caught, 21.3km from the finish and 1.4km from the summit.

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Campanaerts has taken over from Ineos at the front of the peloton.

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Aready more riders are being dropped out of the peloton, including Armirail.

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The two chasers were caught before the start of the climb, leaving just Cepeda out in front.

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They’re on the cliimb now.

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Ineos have taken over from Visma in the peloton. They must be looking to set something up for Vauqulin.

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The next climb, the Côte de Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, is also the day’s hardest. Averaging a brutal 10.5% for 2.2km, it’s a category one effort, and will surely see some action in the peloton.

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Armirail is going very hard. He’s single-handedly bringing the gaps down on this flat section, to 15 seconds on the two chasers, and 40 seconds to Cepeda.

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It’s still Armirail who leads on this flat section, however, with Campanaerts waiting on his wheel.

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The other riders who were in the break have been caught by the peloton, including Campanaerts, who can now help his Visma teammate Armirail in leading the peloton.

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And here he is having dropped everyone.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Here was the moment Cepeda made his move on the climb.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

With three climbs left to do, Cepeda leads Vlasov and Prodhomme by 25 seconds, and the peloton by one minute.

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Cepeda crests the climb in front alone, with Vlasov and Prodhomme following him some 25 seconds later.

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Cepeda is on a great day. He leads the chasers by 25 seconds, and the peloton by 1:10 as he nears the top of the climb.

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By contrast, Vingegaard only appears to have Armirail remaining with him.

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Armirail has four Ineos riders on his wheel. They’re looking good to challenge for the stage today with Kévin Vauquelin.

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Plowright has been dropped, and set to lose his place on the top ten on GC. He doesn’t seemed fussed about it, however, smiling and waving at the camera. To be so high up on GC was never an expectation of his.

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Armirail is the Visma rider doing the damage, leading a peloton with only about 20 or so riders left in it.

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The peloton is shrinking and shrinking as they go up the climb. Visma are leading again and setting a fierce pace.

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Cepeda has attacked the rest of the break and is now out clear alone.

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Tarling and Campanaerts have joined Milesi in being dropped.

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Some changes in the peloton as they start the climn. Soudal-QuickStep are rivalling Visma at the front.

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The gradients have proven too hard for Milesi, who has been dropped out of the break.

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The breakaway riders have just started the first of those climbs, the Côte de Sécheras. It’s the toughest of the day so far, with its 6.9% slopes across 3.9km deemed difficult enough to be designated a category two label.

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We must assume from the way Visma are riding that they want to deliver Vingegaard for another stage win. And given the amount of climbing that’s to come, and how strong he looked yesterday, you can see why they’d fancy his chances.

Still the gap comes down, to 1:22. This looks like a stage that might come down to the group of favourites after all.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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The peloton arrive at the sprint, just 1:25 behind.

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Romeo takes the seconds at the intermediate sprint, but neither he nor anyone else sprinted for them.

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There’s an intermediate sprint coming up, but none of the riders in the break have any incentive to go for the bonus seconds on offer.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Visma aren’t just containing the leaders, but chasing them down. The gap’s gone down to 1:30.

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Campanaerts is getting a bottle from his team car. He’s in an unusual situation, positioned in the day’s break, but being chased down by his Visma teammates.

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Despite having Campanaerts up the road, Visma-Lease a Bike continue to lead the peloton, and with no help from any other teams.

The race has settled down, and the gap remains at about two minutes. The riders are on a pan flat section, but that’ll change soon in about 20km when they take on three climbs in quick succession, ahead of another to the finish.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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The fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico is nearing its conclusion. You can follow all the action along with us here.

The breakaway is gaining more ground, growing their lead to two minutes. You sense they will be hard to bring back.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Kévin Vauquelin produced an outstanding ride yesterday to finish sixth despite having lots of ground to make up, having missed the early split in the crosswinds. And the Frenchman appeared to hint that foul play might have been afoot, in one of the more scandalous stories from yesterday’s dramatic stage.

Despite the increased strength of this breawkay group, the peloton are still keeping them under control. The gap is now at 1:40.

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Having been dumped far out of GC contention yesterday, Romeo has the freedom to chase stage wins, and this kind of parcours should suit him nicely.

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That was a great move by Movistar, who now have leader Iván Romeo in the break, accompanied by two teammates – the man who helped him get there, Lorenzo Milesi, and the man who was already up the road, Jefferson Cepeda.

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Here were the three chasers, before they joined up to the five leaders.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The eight leader have 1:50. The question now is, who is going to chase? Campanaert’s presence means that the team of the yellow jersey, Visma-Lease a Bike, are no longer obliged to.

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The trio have joined the leaders! So we now have a very strong looking group of eight up the road.

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Victor Campanaerts is also in the move with the two Movistar riders.

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Romeo and his Movistar teammate Milesi are going very well. They’re already just 20 seconds behind the leaders.

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Visma-Lease a Bike pulling at the front of the peloton. Given the hilly finale, and the uphill finish, might they be eyeing up a second successive stage win.

Vlasov takes the points at the top of the climb, ahead of Cavanga and Prodhomme. As they take on a false flat that comes after the summit, and with 100km left to ride in total, their lead over the peloton is about 1:40.

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Ivan Romeo and Lorenzo Milesi has attacked out of the peloton on the climb.

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The leaders are on the climb now, as is the peloton, 1:30 behind.

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Now the race has settled down a little, it seems a good time to reflect on yesterday’s dramatic stage.

While bad weather is a common factor of this March-time race, rarely has it had such an impact on the GC gaps.The whole race was turned on its head, and the time gaps almost unique in their size compared with editions of Paris-Nice in the modern age.

The gap between the leaders and peloton has grown a little, up to 1:40.

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Steinhauser is back in the bunch, as are multiple other riders who were pulled along by his EF Education-EasyPost teammates.

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Some EF teammates have dropped back to try and help make up the 10 second deficit he has to the peloton.

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Another surprise now as Georg Steinhauser, the man up to third on GC yesterday after an exceptional performance, has also found himself distanced out the back of the peloton.

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The five men up the road, who have formed the day’s break.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Having looked so good yesterday, we can only imagine that Gaudu was suffering from some kind of illness, perhaps as an effect of the horrible weather conditions yesterday. Either way, it’s a bitter disappointment as the Frenchman appeared to be coming into some of his best form for a while.

Clearly Gaudu was having serious problems – it’s just been announced that he has abandoned the race.

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Meanwhile, Gaudu’s problems continue. He’s still 15 seconds behind the peloton, despite having teammates Johan Jacobs and Clément Russo to assist him.

Visma-Lease a Bike have taken control at the front of the peloton, and aren’t giving them much leeway. They’re keeping the gap at 1:10, despite the fact that nobody in the group is within 15 minutes of Vingegaard’s time on GC.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Over a minute now for the five leaders. There are also some chasers in between them and the peloton, but they’re still much closer to the peloton for now.

Still the quintet’s lead grows, up to 25 seconds. This might be our break of the day.

As for David Gaudu, he’s slowly making his way back to the peloton, with just 10 seconds left to make up.

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Their lead is indeed growing, now up to 20 seconds.

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With riders as powerful as time trial specialists Tarling and Cavagna, this group could have a decent chance of at last making the elastic snap, especially as the upcoming kilometres are mostly flat and rolling, before the hills of the finale.

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That quintet has a lead of eight seconds for now.

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Tarling, Cavagna, Prodhomme and Cepeda are the four riders who have clipped clear with Vlasov.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Vlasov pushed on after cresting the climb first, and a few other riders have joined. They’re trying to form a breakaway.

Still no breakaway, but the peloton is smaller now after that climb. Gaudu is 15 seconds behind with his teammates – it’s unclear if his is a legs issue, or a mechanical issue.

Vlasov was the first rider to the top of the climb, ahead of Nicolya Vinokurov and Nicolas Prodhomme.

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This could be a significant development, as Gaudu started the day in fifth overall having done well in the rain yesterday.

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There’s a problem here for David Gaudu, who is out the back of the peloton. He has a couple of teammates with him to help pace him.

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The fast pace being set on this climb is seeing riders dropped out of the back, including sprinters Phil Bauhaus and Milan Fretin.

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Scratch that, it wasn’t so promising after all – all four have now been caught.

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Two riders have joined Bissegger and Sütterlin. This is starting to look like a promising break.

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Sütterlin and Bissegger and the peloton close behind are approaching the foot of the first climb of the day, the category three Côte de Lentilly. There are sterner tests to come, but this could help a definitive break form.

That’s a powerful duo, but, again, you sense they’ll need some companions for more firepower.

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Jasha Sütterlin and Stefan Bissegger are the latet riders to try their luck, and have a lead of about 15 seconds.

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Jonas Vingegaard at the start today, looking more dapper than he did in the rain yesterday. His eccentric choice of attire became a talking point yesterday.

So still we have no break and a peloton that’s all together, with over 40km already completed.

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He didn’t, and Pacher is already back in the peloton.

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Pacher has a bit of a gap, just over 10 seconds, but will likely need support from others if he’s to stand a chance of staying out there.

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Correction – Pacher is on the attack, while Pavel Sivakov is the rider to abandon.

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It’s been announced that Quentin Pacher has abandoned the race, becomming the first Groupama-FDJ rider to drop out.

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We also have live coverage of today’s Tirreno-Adriatico stage, where, unlike here in France, a breakaway has managed to form.

Still no breakaway has been formed. This could be a long, intense battle that continues for a while yet.

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King of the Moiuntains Casper Pedersen was part of a small group that also tried to go clear a little earlier, but were’t allowed to. It’s important that he ends up in the day’s break if he’s to stay in the polka-dot jersey.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Kluckers was out there for a couple of kilometres, but has been brought back.

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Arthur Kluckers of Tudor is the lastest rider to try and get away.

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The Jayco rider who attacekd earlier was Robert Donaldson, but he did not manage to get away.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

We’re about 15km into the stage, and still no sign of a break forming.

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A familiar sight – Jonas Vingegaard back in the yellow jersey.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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There’s now a group of riders leading the race, but only with a small lead over a peloton not willing to let them go.

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The Australian team has been aggressive throughout this Paris-Nice, and continue to be so despite (now that Ackermann has also pulled out) having lost more riders than any other team.

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A Jayco-AlUla rider has made an attack.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

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After all the drama yesterday, and the additional dropouts this morning, we’re left with just 134 riders in the peloton.

And they’re off!

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The peloton is a little lighter than that which finished yesterday’s stage. Three more riders have abandoned overnight – sprinters Pascal Ackermann and Casper van Uden, now surely run out of stage win opportunities, plus Toms Skujiņš, who endured a rough day yesterday.

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The peloton waiting at the start, enjoying the blue sky.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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The riders are moving through the neutralised zone. Given the nature of the parcours, and just how few riders and teams are now competing for GC, you can expect a big battle to get into the day’s break right from the flag.

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We shouldn’t expect the carnage of yesterday’s stage, for one primary reason – the weather. The sun is back out again and the rain has ceased, which will make for a much more pleasant and less hazardous day in the saddle.

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The consequence of that stage means that it appears the race for GC at Paris-Nice has already come down to a two horse race, between leader Jonas Vingegaard, and the man 52 seconds behind him on GC, Dani Martínez. But the nature of the parcours and conditions here means that plenty more twists and turns could yet lie ahead, and, with so many people now so far down on GC, there will surely be a big appetite for attacking, that could engineer some chaotic racing.

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When designing this stage, and the overall route of this year’s Paris-Nice, the organisers probably expected things to remain tight and open at the top of the GC. They couldn’t have anticipated what would happen on yesterday’s stage four, where foul weather exploded the race, and now there are only three riders within five minutes of the overall leader.