Jake Stewart won the fifth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine, marking his first World Tour victory. He outpaced competitors Axel Laurance and Sren Waerenskjold in a tightly contested sprint finish after 183km of hilly racing. Despite the team's sprinter Pascal Ackermann crashing and retiring from the race, Stewart expressed gratitude for his teammates' support. Race leader Remco Evenepoel also faced a crash but sustained no major injuries. Evenepoel is expected to contend for overall victory against Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in the challenging Alpine stages ahead.
'That one feels good,' said the 25-year-old who finished fifth in Sunday's opening stage in Montlucon. 'The boys backed me and the team backed me, they did an awesome job, so I'm just so happy that I could finish it off for them.'
Evenepoel, who took the yellow jersey in Wednesday's time-trial, crashed in the final kilometre but was able to resume without difficulty and lost no time in the overall standings. 'There are no major injuries, just small scratches,' said the Belgian.
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