Aru wins TDF Stage 5, Froome takes yellow

Plancher-les-Mines -Fabio Aru made a statement of intent on Wednesday and showed he is the heir apparent to 2014 Tour de France winner and Italian compatriot Vincenzo Nibali.

Aru won the 160.5km fifth stage at La Planche des Belles Filles by 16 seconds from Ireland's Dan Martin to move up to third overall.

And it was on that very same climb in 2014 that Nibali had tasted victory before going on to dominate, and win, the Tour title.

AS with Nibali three years ago, Aru also did so whilst wearing the Italian national champion's jersey.

"I'd never climbed it before but of course I saw that last climb on the internet when Chris (Froome) won in 2012 and Nibali in 2014, so that's why I decided to attack with 3km to go," said Aru.

Back in 2014, Nibali had no peers as Froome, who now leads the Tour after finishing third, and Alberto Contador had both crashed out of the race.

So Aru's achievement was even more impressive as it was gleaned against all the best climbers in the world.

But he didn't want to get carried away, especially after his experience last year when he had a disastrous penultimate stage, dropping from sixth overall to 13th.

"That penultimate stage last year was worse than being cut by a knife," said Aru.

"But I learnt a lot from it and promised myself I'd come back as soon as possible to the Tour because I love the Tour."

He attacked with 2.4km left of the stage that started in Vittel, and quickly opened up a winning gap.

Time and again, Aru kicked on with great determination to consolidate his advantage, also riding into the polkadot king of the mountains jersey.

First Froome 1.7km out and then Richie Porte in the final kilometre counter-attacked behind but it was Ireland's Martin who took second place to move up to fourth overall at 25sec.

Briton Froome rolled over the line in third at 20sec, just ahead of Porte, to take the race leader's yellow jersey off his compatriot and team-mate Geraint Thomas, who drops to second, although at the same 12sec gap that he previously enjoyed.

Aru, though, is now just 14sec back and Froome said he and his Sky team-mates would not be able to take their eyes of the Sardinian again.

"Fabio rode a great stage and attacked at just the right moment before the climb flattened out before the last kick," said the 32-year-old Briton.

"If anything, behind we gave him a little too much space. After I made my move, three or four guys followed me but no-one really wanted to pull on the flat part. 

"That allowed Fabio to open up a gap.

"Going forward we cannot afford to allow Fabio that kind of a gap again.

"He'd already shown in the Dauphine he was in great shape and that was confirmed today."

Nairo Quintana was the biggest loser of the day, coming in 14sec behind Froome, leaving him ninth overall at 54sec.

But with the top 10 separated by a second over one minute, and all the contenders in there, the race is now truly on.

An eight-man breakaway took off early in the stage and built up a maximum lead of three and a half minutes.

But with Sky reluctant to chase them down, BMC decided to take over pace-setting duties, in the hope of setting up Porte for the stage win and the time bonus that would offer.

With just over 13km left Philippe Gilbert, on his 35th birthday, attack his five remaining breakaway companions and only Jan Bakelants could respond.

When they reached the foot of the climb, though, they had a lead of less than a minute over the peloton, now led by the Sky armada.

They held on for almost 2km more but with 4km to ride, it was over and now all down to the overall contenders.

Results from the 5th stage of the Tour de France, a 160.5km ride from Vittel to La Planche des Belles Filles on Wednesday:

1. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) 160.5 km in 3hr 44min 06sec (average: 43,0 km/h)

2. Daniel Martin (IRL/QST) at 0:16.

3. Christopher Froome (GBR/SKY) 0:20.

4. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC) 0:20.

5. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:24.

6. Simon Yates (GBR/ORI) 0:26.

7. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:26.

8. Alberto Contador (ESP/TRE) 0:26.

9. Nairo Quintana (COL/MOV) 0:34.

10. Geraint Thomas (GBR/SKY) 0:40.

11. Louis Meintjies (RSA/EAU) 0:40.

12. Rafal Majka (POL/BOR) 0:40.

13. Nicolas Roche (IRL/BMC) 1:05.

14. George Bennett (NZL/LNL) 1:07.

15. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:07.

16. Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (DEN/AST) 1:07.

17. Pierre-Roger Latour (FRA/ALM) 1:10.

18. Serge Pauwels (BEL/DDT) 1:10.

19. Guillaume Martin (FRA/AJW) 1:13.

20. Damiano Caruso (ITA/BMC) 1:13.

21. Andrew Talansky (USA/CAN) 1:13.

22. Emanuel Buchmann (GER/BOR) 1:17.

23. Mikel Nieve (ESP/SKY) 1:17.

24. Sergio Henao (COL/SKY) 1:36.

25. Laurens ten Dam (NED/SUN) 1:39.

26. Tiesj Benoot (BEL/LOT) 1:43.

27. Mathias Frank (SWI/ALM) 1:47.

28. Tim Wellens (BEL/LOT) 1:47.

29. Michal Kwiatkowski (POL/SKY) 1:52.

30. Janez Brajkovic (SLO/BAH) 1:54.

31. Esteban Chaves (COL/ORI) 1:59.

32. Bauke Mollema (NED/TRE) 1:59.

33. Ondrej Cink (CZE/BAH) 1:59.

34. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/ORI) 2:13.

35. Brice Feillu (FRA/TFO) 2:17.

36. Lilian Calmejane (FRA/DEN) 2:24.

37. Pierre Rolland (FRA/CAN) 2:24.

38. Eduardo Sepulveda (ARG/TFO) 2:26.

39. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA/DEN) 2:26.

40. Nicolas Edet (FRA/COF) 2:34.

41. Alexis Vuillermoz (FRA/ALM) 2:51.

42. Carlos Betancour (COL/MOV) 2:51.

43. Thomas Degand (BEL/AJW) 3:02.

44. Maurits Lammertink (NED/KAT) 3:06.

45. Rudy Molard (FRA/FDJ) 3:08.

46. Romain Hardy (FRA/TFO) 3:22.

47. Primoz Roglic (SLO/LNL) 3:25.

48. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO/KAT) 3:25.

49. Elie Gesbert (FRA/TFO) 3:41.

50. Marco Minnaard (NED/AJW) 3:50.

51. Jan Bakelants (BEL/ALM) 4:02.

52. Thibaut Pinot (FRA/FDJ) 4:11.

53. Maxime Bouet (FRA/TFO) 4:23.

54. Jarlinson Pantano (COL/TRE) 4:29.

55. Tony Gallopin (FRA/LOT) 4:37.

56. Javier Moreno (ESP/BAH) 4:40.

57. Warren Barguil (FRA/SUN) 4:40.

58. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 4:44.

59. Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP/MOV) 4:49.

60. Luis Angel Mate (ESP/COF) 5:01.

61. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ/AST) 5:33.

62. Jay McCarthy (AUS/BOR) 5:48.

63. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/QST) 6:11.

64. Tiago Machado (POR/KAT) 6:21.

65. Diego Ulissi (ITA/EAU) 6:51.

66. Manuele Mori (ITA/EAU) 6:51.

67. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/QST) 6:51.

68. Haimar Zubeldia (ESP/TRE) 6:51.

69. Thomas Voeckler (FRA/DEN) 7:28.

70. Nathan Brown (USA/CAN) 7:28.

71. Damien Howson (AUS/ORI) 7:54.

72. Daryl Impey (RSA/ORI) 8:07.

73. Oliver Naesen (BEL/ALM) 8:07.

74. Ben Gastauer (LUX/ALM) 8:07.

75. Cyril Gautier (FRA/ALM) 8:07.

76. Simon Geschke (GER/SUN) 8:11.

77. Julien Vermote (BEL/QST) 9:02.

78. Marco Marcato (ITA/EAU) 9:02.

79. Kristijan Durasek (CRO/EAU) 9:02.

80. Matteo Bono (ITA/EAU) 9:02.

81. Darwin Atapuma (COL/EAU) 9:02.

82. Perrig Quemeneur (FRA/DEN) 9:02.

83. Pierre-Luc Perichon (FRA/TFO) 9:10.

84. Alberto Bettiol (ITA/CAN) 9:13.

85. Romain Sicard (FRA/DEN) 9:19.

86. Patrick Bevin (NZL/CAN) 9:19.

87. Christian Knees (GER/SKY) 9:59.

88. Adam Hansen (AUS/LOT) 9:59.

89. Simon Clarke (AUS/CAN) 9:59.

90. Paul Martens (GER/LNL) 9:59.

91. Robert Gesink (NED/LNL) 9:59.

92. Daniel Navarro (ESP/COF) 9:59.

93. Vegard Laengen (NOR/EAU) 10:05.

94. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/DDT) 10:05.

95. Jens Keukeleire (BEL/ORI) 10:05.

96. Marcus Burghardt (GER/BOR) 10:14.

97. Yoann Offredo (FRA/AJW) 10:38.

98. Frederik Backaert (BEL/AJW) 10:38.

99. Lars Ytting Bak (DEN/LOT) 10:38.

100. Tony Martin (GER/KAT) 10:38.

101. Jasha Sütterlin (GER/MOV) 10:47.

102. Jose Herrada Lopez (ESP/MOV) 10:47.

103. Imanol Erviti (ESP/MOV) 10:47.

104. Audrey Amador (CRC/MOV) 10:47.

105. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA/DDT) 10:47.

106. Zdenek Stybar (CZE/QST) 10:56.

107. Jack Bauer (NZL/QST) 10:56.

108. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/BMC) 10:56.

109. Nikias Arndt (GER/SUN) 11:10.

110. Mike Teunissen (NED/SUN) 11:10.

111. Yukiya Arashiro (JPN/BAH) 11:11.

112. Axel Domont (FRA/ALM) 11:14.

113. Angelo Tulik (FRA/DEN) 11:14.

114. Timo Roosen (NED/LNL) 11:14.

115. Pieter Vanspeybrouck (BEL/AJW) 11:14.

116. Andrej Zeits (KAZ/AST) 11:14.

117. Tylan van Baarle (NED/CAN) 11:26.

118. Vasil Kiryienka (BLR/SKY) 11:26.

119. Thomas De Gendt (BEL/LOT) 11:58.

120. Rick Zabel (GER/KAT) 11:58.

121. Koen de Kort (NED/TRE) 11:58.

122. Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (KAZ/AST) 11:58.

123. Dion Smith (NZL/AJW) 11:58.

124. Julien Simon (FRA/COF) 11:58.

125. Markel Irizar (ESP/TRE) 11:58.

126. Cyril Lemoine (FRA/COF) 11:58.

127. Scott Thwaites (GBR/DDT) 11:58.

128. Michael Albasini (SWI/ORI) 11:58.

129. Dario Cataldo (ITA/AST) 11:58.

130. Andrea Pasqualon (ITA/AJW) 11:58.

131. Jos van Emden (NED/LNL) 11:58.

132. Danilo Wyss (SWI/BMC) 11:58.

133. Jurgen Roelandts (BEL/LOT) 11:58.

134. Tsgabu Grmay (ETH/BAH) 11:58.

135. Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ/AST) 12:05.

136. Alessandro De Marchi (ITA/BMC) 13:27.

137. Fabio Felline (ITA/TRE) 13:43.

138. Adrien Petit (FRA/DEN) 13:47.

139. Reto Hollenstein (SWI/KAT) 13:51.

140. Daniele Bennati (ITA/MOV) 13:51.

141. Maciej Bodnar (POL/BOR) 13:51.

142. Michael Matthews (AUS/SUN) 14:13.

143. Andriy Grivko (UKR/AST) 14:25.

144. Michael Gogl (AUT/TRE) 14:25.

145. Yohann Gene (FRA/DEN) 14:28.

146. Fabio Sabatini (ITA/QST) 15:07.

147. Roy Curvers (NED/SUN) 15:07.

148. Nils Politt (GER/KAT) 15:07.

149. Dimitri Claeys (BEL/COF) 15:10.

150. Laurent Pichon (FRA/TFO) 15:11.

151. Thomas Boudat (FRA/DEN) 15:11.

152. Michael Andersen (DEN/AST) 15:11.

153. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA/COF) 15:11.

154. Amaël Moinard (FRA/BMC) 15:11.

155. Florian Sénéchal (FRA/COF) 15:11.

156. Pawel Poljanski (POL/BOR) 15:11.

157. Ramon Sinkeldam (NED/SUN) 15:16.

158. Florian Vachon (FRA/TFO) 15:18.

159. Tom Leezer (NED/LNL) 15:19.

160. Sonny Colbrelli (ITA/BAH) 15:24.

161. Grega Bole (SLO/BAH) 15:24.

162. Borut Božic (SLO/BAH) 15:26.

163. Mark Renshaw (AUS/DDT) 15:43.

164. Albert Timmer (NED/SUN) 15:47.

165. Marcel Kittel (GER/QST) 15:47.

166. John Degenkolb (GER/TRE) 15:47.

167. Stephen Cummings (GBR/DDT) 15:47.

168. Dylan Groenewegen (NED/LNL) 15:47.

169. Juraj Sagan (SVK/BOR) 16:01.

170. Matthew Hayman (AUS/ORI) 16:15.

171. Bernhard Eisel (AUT/DDT) 16:15.

172. Ben Swift (GBR/EAU) 16:16.

173. Luke Rowe (GBR/SKY) 16:16.

174. Michael Schaer (SWI/BMC) 16:21.

175. Stefan Kung (SWI/BMC) 16:21.

176. Christophe Laporte (FRA/COF) 16:34.

177. Daniel McLay (GBR/TFO) 19:16.

178. Marcel Sieberg (GER/LOT) 19:37.

179. Robert Wagner (GER/LNL) 19:37.

180. Andre Greipel (GER/LOT) 19:37.

181. Jaco Venter (RSA/DDT) 19:37.

182. Marco Haller (AUT/KAT) 19:37.

183. Taylor Phinney (USA/CAN) 19:40.

184. Mickael Delage (FRA/FDJ) 19:49.

185. Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU/FDJ) 19:49.

186. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (BEL/AJW) 19:49.

187. Arnaud Demare (FRA/FDJ) 19:49.

188. Rüdiger Selig (GER/BOR) 19:49.

189. Alexander Kristoff (NOR/KAT) 19:49.

190. Olivier Le Gac (FRA/FDJ) 20:29.

191. Matteo Trentin (ITA/QST) 20:55.

192. Davide Cimolai (ITA/FDJ) 22:47.

193. Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA/FDJ) 22:50.

. Mark Cavendish (GBR/DDT) Withdrawn