Following the individual time trial of Laval, Mathieu van der Poel is still in the yellow jersey. It pleases Tadej Pogacar who didn’t want to handle the responsibilities in the race so early. From Tours to Châteauroux, it’s another short stage dedicated to sprinters like stage 4 surprisingly won by Mark Cavendish in the absence of Caleb Ewan. As he unexpectedly made his way back to the Tour de France, the Manxman noted that Fougères and Châteauroux, two places where he won before, were again on the course. So is Nîmes, but later on. Cav’ is actually unbeaten in Châteauroux. That’s where he took his first ever Tour de France stage victory in 2008. He made it again at the exact same place on the avenue de La Châtre in front of the Gaston-Petit football stadium in 2011. The Tour hasn’t returned to Châteauroux since. It’s all about Cav’ as he loves things to be, but he’s not the only sprinter left…
