THE RACE LIVE
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Boonen will keep his yellow jersey for another day. He was second in the stage, finishing about one bike length behind Freire.

The top five in the 225km fifth stage of the 2006 Tour is:
1. Oscar Freire (ESP - RAB)
2. Tom Boonen (BEL - QSI)
3. Inaki Isasi (ESP - EUS)
4. David Kopp (GER - GST)
5. Robbie McEwen (AUS - DVL)

This is the second time that Oscar Freire has won a stage of the Tour. The first was in Sarrebruck a few years ago.

The fifth stage has been won by Freire who launched his sprint with about 350m to go. Boonen closed in fast but was unable to catch the Spanish Rabobank rider.

Boonen is well placed for the sprint, right on his wheel is the winner of stage one Casper...

The peloton has just taken the final turn of the 5th stage. Liquigas is in charge, followed by three Quickstep riders... including the yellow jersey.

A Milram rider is now on the attack. He’s free to race to try and set up a strong because Dumoulin and Schroder have been caught by the peloton in the final 2km.

The Liquigas team come to the front of the pack just as Dumoulin and Schroder have been caught.

Galvez, Vansummeren, Dean, Wrolich are some of the riders involved in the fall.

There has been another crash in the peloton. It appears as tough Galvez is involved. We await names of other riders involved...

A bunch sprint appears to be the likely conclusion to the fifth stage. The peloton is now just 12" behind Dumoulin and Schroder and only 4km remain.

The leaders are 5km from the finish. The peloton is led by the Lampre team... just 15" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.

Only 30" separate Dumoulin and Schroder and the peloton with 6km to go...

There are just 7km to go in the stage. The advantage of Dumoulin and Schroder is down to 40" but they refuse to concede to the sprint teams who are giving their all to reel in the escapees.

Filippo Pozzato (QSI) has come to the front of the peloton which is now 45" behind the two escapees.

The two escapees have been at the front of the stage for 195km. They have less than 10km to go and they must be able to feel the peloton breathing down their necks... the last time check had the pack at 1’00".

The peloton is 1’15" behind Dumoulin and Schroder with 12km to go.

The bunch continues to close in on the two escapees. With 15km to go, Lampre riders have joined Davitamon-Lotto and Credit Agricole at the head of the pack.

Martinez is back on the bike after his crash. His team-mate Padrnos is drifting behind the peloton and looking for his Spanish colleague...

The bunch is now 1’50" behind Dumoulin and Schroder who are 15km from the end of the 225km stage.

Egoi Martinez f the Discovery Channel team has come crashing down. He is still lying on the road and is receiving treatment from the race’s medical staff.

Quickstep directeur sportif, Wilfried Peeters has just told France Television that the yellow jersey is the reason for his team’s work. "There’s no real urgency for us because the gap is coming down according to plan," said Peeters. "Our first priority is to defend the yellow jersey and then we’ll try to organize a bunch sprint with the other teams. Tom isn’t stressed because he still has a lot of time to win a stage but it’d be nice for him if he could win today."

The peloton is 2’15" behind the two stage leaders with 20km to go.

Dumoulin and Schroder are now less than 20km from the finish of the stage. The last time check has this pair 2’30" ahead of the peloton.

The peloton is 25km from the finish and the advantage of Dumoulin and Schroder is 2’30". A FDJ rider has just come forward in the bunch to help the Davitamon-Lotto, Credit Agricole and Quickstep teams with the pursuiting duties.

The escapees have less than 25km to go and their lead over the peloton is 3’00".

The escapees are just 3’15" ahead of the peloton. It’s a classic pursuit but we can expect that the weight of numbers and the benefit of fresher legs will win in the end. Laurent Fignon, commentating for France Television, said that the sprint teams need to gain seven seconds per kilometer to catch the escapees. It’s a hard task, but Quickstep, Davitamon-Lotto and Credit Agricole haven’t failed yet this year when it comes to chasing down escape groups.

The escapees are less than 30km from the finish of the stage. Dumoulin and Schroder have been at the front of the stage for 173km already...

Dumoulin and Schroder continue to push on with their effort at the front of the stage. Their advantage over the bunch is 3’40"...

The winner of yesterday’s stage, Robbie McEwen, said that the final 40km was really difficult because riders who are hoping for a good result in the general classification were fighting for position at the head of the peloton.
Right now we see riders from Phonak and T-Mobile moving up front and it appears that it’s a similar scene to yesterday. Instead of allowing the head of the bunch to be controlled by sprinters’ team, the likes of Landis (PHO) and Kloden (TMO) are also present because they want to avoid any problems in the closing kilometers.
"It’s always difficult to find the right position at the end of a Tour stage," said McEwen, "but when those guys are there, it’s extra hard.
"I can understand why they do it though..."

After being caught up in the recent fall, Moncoutie (COF) has returned to the peloton.

The Credit Agricole team has sent two riders to the front of the peloton. They are now working with Brandt (DVL) and several Quickstep riders... the sprint teams are prepared to collaborate in the pursuit of Dumoulin and Schroder who have been at the front of the stage since the 20km mark.

After a short stint behind the bunch, Boonen is back in the peloton which is now 4’20" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.
All the riders involved in the fall are back on their bikes. It doesn’t appear as though anyone was seriously hurt.

Tom Boonen has been held up because of the recent crash. He does not have any team-mates back to help him rejoin the peloton, but the Quickstep boys have just stopped setting the pace at the front of the peloton.

There has been a fall in the peloton. The riders involved include: David De la Fuente, Ventoso (SDV), David Moncoutie (COF)... Boonen has been held up but it doesn’t seem as though he crashed.

Johan Vansummeren has been caught by the peloton which continues to be led by Cedric Vasseur of the Quickstep team.

The points for the 3rd sprint of stage five (at the 175km mark) were won by:
1. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 6pts/6"
2. Bjorn Schroder (MRM) 4pts/4"
3. Johan Vansummeren (DVL) 2pts/2" - at 4’25"
The peloton was 4’40" behind the two stage leaders.

As predicted, Vansummeren has attacked as the peloton approaches the site oof the third intermediate sprint. It’s a tactic employed at the first two sprints today: he is now 1,000m away from the line...

“I’m fairly sure that the two escapees will be caught with about 20km to go today,” said the five-time Tour de France winner, Bernard Hinault when contacted by LeTour.fr. “The course is slightly undulating but it’s perfect for the sprinters. It won’t be a problem for the bunch to catch Dumoulin and Schroder.”
In Hinault’s fourth year as a professional, he was part of the Renault-Gitane team that contested the Tour de France when Caen was the site of the team time trial (in 1978). “I remember the day well because we didn’t have a very good ride. I can’t recall our position but I do know that a team-mate of mine had crashed the day before and we had to be a little conservative,” he said of the day the Ti Raleigh team won.

The two riders at the front of the stage are 5km awy from the third intermediate sprint. If the tactics of the first two sprints are employed again, it’s only a matter of minutes before we see Johan Vansummeren (DVL) attack the peloton as he looks to absorb the 2pts for third over the line.

Brandt (DVL) is now setting the pace of the peloton’s chase. The bunch is at the 164km mark, 5’30" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.

The bunch is now at the 163km mark with a deficit of 5’45" on Dumoulin and Schroder.

The points at the top of the Cote du Boulay (159.0km) were won by:
1. Bjorn Schroder (MRM) 3pts
2. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 2pts
3. Jerome Pineau (BTL) 1pt - at 6’00".
Pineau will retain his lead in the climbing classification at the end of stage five.

As expected, Pineau’s team-mates are coming to the front of the peloton to help the polka-dot jersey add another point to his tally in the climbing classification. This time, Wegmann and De la Fuente couldn’t be bothered following the lead of the Frenchman...

The two leaders have taken the points at the top of the Cote de Boulay (159km): Schroder first, Dumoulin second. They are currently 5’50" ahead of the bunch which continues to be led by five Quickstep riders, plus one Davitamon-Lotto worker.

The peloton is closing on Dumoulin and Schroder rapidly now. It is just 6’10" behind... with 66km to go. The maximum gain of the escpaees was 12’50" with 140km to go.

The Quickstep team is receiving some assistance from one of Davitamon-Lotto’s workers, Christophe Brandt.

The Quickstep crew continue to do the work in an attempt to set up a bunch sprint at the finish. Their efforts have pulled Dumoulin and Schroder back a little. The latest check has the escapees 7’10" ahead.

Vansummeren has claimed third place in both the intermediate sprints today. He has surged ahead of the peloton and then sat up to wait for the bunch after claiming the two points.

The points for the 2nd intermediate sprint were won by:
1. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 6pts/6"
2. Bjorn Schroder (MRM) 4pts/4"
3. Johan Vansummeren (DVL) 2pts/2" - at 6’40".
The peloton was at 7’20".

After claiming third place at the 2nd intermediate sprint, Vansummeren has stopped oon the side of the road to take a toilet stop and wait for the peloton.

At the 139km mark, Dumoulin and Schroder lead Vansummeren (DVL) by 7’05" and the peloton by 7’20". The 2nd intermediate sprint is at the 140.5km mark.

With the peloton nearing the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint, Johan Vansummeren has attacked the peloton.

Zabriskie has caught up with the peloton after his puncture. The sun is shining on the Tour again after a brief shower.

Jerome Pineau is determined to maintain his lead in the climbing classification. He outsprinted De la Fuente for the one point for third place on the third climb of the stage (at the 135.5km mark).
The peloton was 7’30" behind Dumoulin and Schroder at the top of the Cote de Saint-Gregoire-du-Vievre.

With one climbing point yet to be decided on the Cote du Buquet, the Bouygues Telecom team has come to the front of the peloton to lead Pineau to the summit.

After his puncture, Zabriskie is forced to chase the peloton on his own. He is currently in the convoy but has no CSC team-mates present to help tow him back to the bunch.

Vincent Lavenu explained to LeTour.fr that Samuel Dumoulin’s involvement in today’s escape wasn’t really on the agenda. The AG2R team would have prefered a bigger group if one of its riders was in The Move of the day. “At the start today, it wasn’t planned to be part of any small escapes because we prefer to be involved in a move involving more riders," said Lavenu.
"That’s exactly what Samuel did but, because there was a Quickstep rider in the move, the peloton chased down the initial move of eight riders. Samuel then attacked again to try and eliminate a few riders and that’s when Schroder followed his lead.
"Now he has to keep the escape alive; I want him to push the pace, but also conserve some energy. It’s up to the peloton to decide if it wants to chase down the break…”

Dave Zabriskie has just punctured his rear tire. He’s waiting for a new wheel from his CSC team car.

Last year’s Spanish champion, Juan Manuel Garate, has come to the front of the peloton to help three other Quickstep riders set the tempo of the pursuit of Dumoulin and Schroder.

This is the first season that Bjorn Schroder has been a member of a major league team. He joined Milram after three years with Team Wiesenhof where he began his road career. He has a background in cyclo-cross - finishing 2nd, 3rd and 3rd in the German national championships in 1996, 1996 and 2000...
He’s won two stages of the Circuit des Mines in 2003, a stage of the Sachsen Tour in 2005 and, this year, a stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt. This is his first Tour de France.
The 25-year-old is currently in the lead of the stage with Samuel Dumoulin. The pair have an advantage of 8’30" on the peloton.

Three Quickstep riders continue to lead the peloton in very wet conditions. Right behind Boonen’s colleagues are a number of Phonak riders.

The leaders covered 38.7km in the third hour. The average for the first three hours in stage five is 41.5km/h.

The peloton is in the feedzone (at the 117km mark). It is 8’30" behind the two stage leaders and raincoats are being put on for the first time in the 2006 Tour de France.

Rain is pouring down on the leaders of the Tour de France’s fifth stage. The peloton is still riding on dry roads, 8’50" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.

Fabian Wegmann and Jerome Pineau have led the peloton to the top of the 2nd climb. The points were won by:
1. Bjorn Schroder (MRM) 3pts
2. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 2pts
3. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 1pt
The peloton is currently 9’05" behind the escapees.

Dumoulin and Schroder are in Le Bosc-Roger-en-Roumois at the 111.5km mark. Their advantage has dropped to 9’45" thanks largely to the efforts of three Quickstep riders who are setting the pace of the chase.

Schroder led Dumoulin over the line at the top of the 2nd climb of the stage. The two escapees have cooperated well since breaking free of the peloton at the 20km mark.

Dumoulin and Schroder are 1km from the top of the Cote du Buquet (a cat-4 rise at the 109km mark). It is a 3.1km long ascent with an average gradient 3.4 per cent.

The peloton is at the 100km mark. It is being led by riders from the Quickstep team and is 10’50" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.

When a round of the French Cup was contested in in the region of today’s stage on 31 March, the winner was Samuel Dumoulin. The AG2R rider won the 191km Route Adelie; it is his only victory so far this year.
Right now, he leads the Tour de France along with Bjorn Schroder (MRM). The advantage of the escapees is 11’50".
Tomorrow’s stage concludes in Vitre (where the Route Adelie finishes). But the rider from Venissieux has performed well in other races in the region. He won the overall title at the Tour de Normandie in 2003 after finishing 3rd in stage three, 2nd in stage four and 3rd in stage six which ended in Caen - the site of today’s stage finish.

The peloton has started to pull back Dumoulin and Schroder who reached a maximum gain of 12’50" (at 84km). The bunch is now 12’25" behind.

LeTour.fr contacted one of the directeur sportifs of the Credit Agricole team to get their thoughts on the relegation of Thor Hushovd - from 4th to 148th - in stage four.
“We have watched the replay of the finish of yesterday’s stage and really couldn’t see where the irregularity in the sprint was," said Serge Beucherie. "Thor never strayed from his line!
"There’s no doubt that the finish was frantic but Eisel and Hushovd didn’t do anything wrong. We believe that the decision by the race jury is unfair.
“The team spoke to the commissaries this morning but they didn’t want to listen to our complaints. They maintain their perspective that Thor’s sprint wasn’t ideal.
“Thor is distressed because he is now well down in the rankings for the points classification. He lost 24 points and is out of contention for the green jersey now. It’s the same situation as what happened to McEwen in Tours last year.
“Now we can only wait to see if something happens to McEwen and Boonen but that’s not what we’re really wishing for. Today we will not cooperate in the pursuit of any escapees because we have no jersey to defend… nor the catalyst of chasing points in the race for the green jersey.”

The peloton is at the 84km mark. It is 12’50" behind Dumoulin and Schroder. Expect that advantage to drop soon because of the efforts of riders from the Quickstep team.

The peloton has begun its pursuit of the two escapees. The Quickstep team has taken responsibility and decided that Dumoulin and Schroder shouldn’t be allowed to build on their advantage which peaked at 12’10".

The leaders covered 39.9km in the second hour of racing. The average speed for the first two hours is 42.9km/h. The peloton has just reached the 68km mark... 12’10" behind Dumoulin and Schroder.

Dumoulin and Schroder are now 12’10" ahead of the peloton.

The brief halt to tend to mechanical woes and a full bladder didn’t make much of a dent on the advantage of Dumoulin and Schroder. The pair are riding again and currently have a lead of 11’05" on the bunch.

After the brief interruption, the two stage leaders are back on their bikes and pushing on with their escape.

The two riders at the front of the stage stopped momentarily. Dumoulin had a problem with his bike and it was tended to by a team mechanic. As this happened, Bjorn Schroder took the opportunity to answer the call of nature.

At the finish of the fourth stage in Saint-Quentin, Thor Hushovd (C.A) was relegated from fourth place to 148th (the last position of the lead group) because the race jury decided that his sprint was ‘irregular’. He apparently messed up Bernhard Eisel’s rush to the line; so the commissaire claim. That opinion wasn’t shared by Eisel’s FDJ team director Marc Madiot. “I didn’t see anything irregular in the sprint by Hushovd,” said Madiot.
“To me it was just the turn in the road that made it look like Thor strayed from his line. That’s why we didn’t make a protest.
“Regarding today’s stage: it’s a very quiet one for us. There are two riders on the attack and we’re not interested in chasing them down. It’s possible that we’ll try and set Bernhard up for the final but for now we’re content to just roll along in the pack. I’m comfortable in the back of the team car, reading the newspapers and getting some rest.”

The peloton is at the 69km mark with a deficit of 10’20" to the two riders who escaped at the 20km mark.

Vansummeren attacked the peloton in the lead-up to the intermediate sprint. He claimed third place and has since eased off the pace and is waiting for the bunch.

Rogers has been caught by the peloton shortly after the site of the intermediate sprint.

The situation of the race at the site of the first sprint is as follows...
The points were won by:
1. Dumoulin (A2R)
2. Schroder (MRM)
3. Johan Vansummeren (DVL) 2pts/2"
The tall Belgian rider was 8’40" behind the two escapees. Then came Michael Rogers at 9’20", followed by the peloton at 9’40".

Even though he was given same time as the stage winner yesterday, Julian Dean (C.A) was fined 200 Swiss Francs by the race jury who declared that he hadn’t conducted himself properly in the finishing sprint. His work for team leader, Hushovd, came to a grinding halt when he pulled his foot from the pedal and hit the tarmac with a thud.

Two riders who crossed the line several minutes after the stage winner yesterday were given the same time because of special circumstances.
Erik Zabel (MRM) had a puncture with two kilometers to go and had to wait over two minutes to get a new rear wheel. He finished 166th.
Julian Dean (C.A) crashed heavily in the final straight and crossed the line in 169th but because the incidents happened so close to the finish, the jury gave them the same time as McEwen.

Samuel Dumoulin has taken first place at the first intermediate sprint. Bjorn Schroder was second in Les Andelys (at 66.5km). The peloton is 8’30" behind and currently near the 60.5km mark.

Dumoulin and Schroder are about to contest the sprint in Les Andelys at the 66.5km mark. A newsflash with the results will be posted once third place has been contested.

Dumoulin and Schroder are now 8’00" ahead of the peloton which is at the 58km mark.

Dumoulin and Schroder have pushed their advantage over the peloton up to 7’00". The bunch is currently at Foret-la-Folie at the 54km mark.

The peloton is at the 53km mark with a deficit to Dumoulin and Schroder of 6’40".

The leaders are at the 54km mark as the peloton pass the 50km mark. The time difference is 5’30".

The city in which today’s stage concludes has hosted a finish 34 times before. The first visit to the capital of the Calvados region was in 1905 but the most recent was in 1978 when Ti Raleigh won the team time trial. Below is a list of all the winners in Caen:
1905: Dortignac. 1906: Passerieu. 1907: Georget. 1908: Passerieu. 1909: Duboc. 1910: Lapize. 1927: H. Martin. 1928: Frantz. 1929: Dossche. 1930: C. Pélissier. 1931: Hamerlinck. 1932: Aerts. 1933: Le Grevès. 1934: Louviot. 1935: Morelli. 1936: A. Magne. 1937: Amberg. 1938: Oberbeck. 1939: Fournier. 1947: Diot. 1951: Biagioni. 1953: Mallejac. 1954: W. Van Est. 1956: Hassenforder. 1957: Privat/The French Team. 1958: Sabbadini. 1960: Graczyck. 1966: Bitossi. 1967: Vanneste. 1974: Sercu. 1976: Battaglin. 1978: Ti-Raleigh.

The average speed for the first hour of stage five is 45.5km/h. The advantage of Dumoulin and Schroder has blown out to 3’30".

Dumoulin and Schroder are now 2’00" ahead of the peloton. The best-placed of the pair up front of stage five at the start of the day is Samuel Dumoulin, the shortest rider in this year’s Tour. He began the stage in 123rd place, 3’52" behind Tom Boonen.

Yep, The Escape of the day has been established. At the 42km mark Samuel Dumoulin and Bjorn Schroder have a lead of 1’15". Let’s kick back and watch the advantage grow...

Dumoulin and Schroder are being allowed to build their advantage. The other escapees have been caught and now there are a number of riders answering the call of nature. Expect the next time check to have the two stage leaders well clear of the pack.

The advantage of Dumoulin and Schroder is 15" at the 39km mark.

Dumoulin (A2R) and Schroder (GST) have jumped ahead of their fellow escapees. They have a lead of 12" over De Groot, Righi and Tankink. The others from the early escape have been caught by the peloton that’s being led by the Credit Agricole team.

The eight riders who escaped at the 20km mark are not being allowed to build an advantage. The peloton is just 15" behind (at the 37.5km mark) and appears intent on reeling in the escape of Lang et al.

Dumoulin, Lang, De Groot, Righi, Tankink, Auge, Quinziato & Schroder are now just 17" ahead of the peloton.

Credit Agricole, Davitamon-Lotto and Bouygues Telecom are at the head of the peloton. It appears that they’re not happy with the selection of eight riders who attacked at the 20km mark.
Lang’s group got a lead of 30" but it’s dropping now as the peloton passes the 34.5km mark.

Dumoulin (A2R), Lang (GST), De Groot (RAB), Righi (LAM), Tankink (QSI), Auge (COF), Quinziato (LIQ) & Schroder (MRM) lead the peloton by 30" after 27km of racing.

Of the eight riders in the lead of stage five, the best-placed rider in general classification is Sebatian Lang of the Gerolsteiner team. The German time trial champion was fourth in the prologue but has slipped down the rankings in the four days since... he began today in 97th place, 1’35" behind Boonen.

The eight leaders have an advantage of 20 seconds at the 24km mark.

The peloton is only 10" behind the eight escapees.

Dumoulin (A2R), Lang (GST), De Groot (RAB), Righi (LAM), Tankink (QSI), Auge (COF), Quinziato (LIQ) & Schroder (MRM) are now at the front of the stage. They began their escape at the 20km mark.

As Geslin was caught (at 19km), another trio have attempted to establish an escape group. We await confirmation of who is involved.

At the 18km mark, Geslin has stopped his attack. The bronze medallist from the world championships last year is about to be caught by the peloton.

Geslin’s lead on the peloton is now just 10". The two counter-attackers have been caught.

Anthony Geslin is now just 15" ahead of the peloton which is at the 14km mark. There are two riders attempting to bridge the gap to the stage leaders: Mugerli (LIQ) and Auge (COF).

Geslin (BTL) has continued with his effort at the front of the stage after the first climb. He currently has a lead of 20" on the peloton at the 12.5km mark.

The points at the top of the first climb were taken by three riders from the Bouygues Telecom team.
1. Jerome Pineau (BTL) 3pts
2. Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) 2pts
3. Anthony Geslin (BTL) 1pt

The seven early escapees were caught by the peloton at the 9km mark.

Laurent Brochard (A2R) has punctured his rear tire. He is waiting on a new wheel from his team car.

The Bouygues Telecom team of the current climbing classification leader Jerome Pineau is at the head of the peloton.

The peloton is now 2km from the top of the first climb, the Mont des Fourches (at 10.5km). The five riders in the lead have been caught by Vasseur and Halgand.

Two more French riders are attempting to be part of the early escape group. Cedric Vasseur (QSI) and Patrice Halgand (C.A) are chasing the five stage leaders.

Christophe Laurent is the rider from Agritubel who instigated today’s escape. He has been joined by Bram De Groot (RAB), Arnaud Coyot (COF), Bernhard Eisel (FDJ) and Matthieu Sprick (BTL). They are 8" ahead of the peloton.

A rider from the Agritubel team has attacked the peloton at the 8km mark. We await confirmation of just who it is...

No riders have tried to escape the peloton early in the fifth stage. So far 7.5km have been raced...

The Mont des Fourches is 2.4km long with an average gradient of 3.9 per cent. We can expect to see the usual suspects - Jerome Pineau (BTL), David de la Fuente (SDV) and Fabian Wegmann (GST) - come to the front of the bunch shortly because the peloton is now less than 5km from the first climb.

Jerome Pineau (BTL) wears the polka-dot jersey for the second successive day. The Frenchman has a tally of 21 points, four more than the former leader of the climbing classification David De la Fuente (SDV). In third place is the former winner of the Giro d’Italia’s mountains classification Fabian Wegmann of the Gerolsteiner team (14pts).
There are four climbs in the fifth stage, they the Mont des Fourches (category-4, at 10.5km), Cote du Buquet (category-4, 109.0km), Cote de Saint-Gregoire-du-Vievre (category-4, 134.5km) & Cote du Boulay (category-4, 159.0km).

The bunch is still all together at the 4km mark. The first challenge of the day is the category-four Mont des Fourches. The summit of this climb is at the 10.5km mark.

The winner of stages two and four, Robbie McEwen (DVL) will wear the green jersey as leader of the points classification after stage four. He has a tally of 100 points, 11 more than Tom Boonen (QSI) and 14 more than Thor Hushovd (C.A).
There are three intermediate sprints in the 225.0km stage with six, four and two points on offer for the first three riders across the line. The sprints are in Les Andelys (at 66.5km), Saint-Gregoire-du-Vievre (140.5km) & Pont-L’Eveque (175.0km).

There have been no early attacks in stage five. The peloton is all together at the 1.5km mark.

Today will be Tom Boonen’s second day in the yellow jersey. The Belgian Quickstep rider finished five in stage four but was elevated up the rankings to fourth following the disqualification of Thor Hushovd because of ‘irregular sprinting’. Boonen may not have yet claimed the stage win that he believes he’s capable of, but he achieved another objective: leading the Tour de France when the race was in Belgium.
Boonen’s advantage of the next-best rider, Michael Rogers (TMO) is just one second. Third place in the general classification is held by George Hincapie (DSC) who is five seconds behind the reigning world champion.

The official start time is 11.54am. There are 172 riders still in the race. No one abandoned overnight.

The peloton is currently rolling through the neutral zone. The start of the stage is only minutes away...

The peloton will ride 5.6km in a neutral zone before arriving at the site of the official start. Live coverage will begin as the race director Christian Prudhomme drops the white flag to start the stage; this is expected to be at around 11.55am.

The 225km fifth stage of the 2006 Tour de France is scheduled to begin at 11.40am. The peloton will ride from Beauvais in the Oise department to Caen in Calvados.
The temperature at the start is 22 degrees Celsius in the air (and 27 degrees at road level). It is significantly cooler than the first five days of the Tour and although it’s slightly overcast the forecast is for fine conditions with no rain and minimal wind.