Sam Bennett (Detunink-Quick Step) is proud to wear the Irish national champion kit at this year's Tour de France after finishing third in the sprint from Gap to Prevas on stage 5 on Wednesday, He changed into the green jersey, the first Irishman to win a points prize in 31 years, since Sean Kelly in 1989. [Kelly, who retired in 1994 with 193 wins, said on Eurosport, "I think it's going to be a big story [in the Irish home town]. 'A lot was expected of Bennett going into this Tour. He has been talked about a lot to win the stage and the green jersey. Now he has the green jersey. It's a big buzz and will bring even more excitement to Ireland."

Bennett took maximum points in the intermediate sprint bonus in Lépine on Wednesday after 47.5 km of racing, giving him an advantage over Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), who stayed in fourth place. in the second sprint, Bennett was also ahead of Sagan, taking two points. At the finish in Prevas, Bennett made a final push to stay ahead of Sagan and secure the podium behind stage winner Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and second-place finisher Cece Boll (Sunweb).

"To hold the green jersey for at least one day is a special moment in my career. To follow in their [Sean Kelly and 1987 Tour winner Stéphane Roche's] footsteps is great. I'm proud to be here in the champion jersey representing Ireland," Bennett told Flobikes after the stage.

Bennett's performance at this year's Tour has been remarkable. Former Tour de France winner and television commentator Bradley Wiggins was impressed with the Irishman's strong showing today.

"He has a realistic chance to win this competition. He's probably the fastest in the competition, along with Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal)," Wiggins said on Eurosport. But it's great for Bennett. But it's great for Bennett. When you have the green jersey, it adds a new pressure on what comes first.

Four days after his horrific crash on the first stage of Nice, Wout Poels is riding for the Bahrain McLaren team with broken ribs and a contused lung. After finishing stage 5 in Prevas, he was recognized as the most combative rider and earned the respect of many in and out of the peloton.

Former pro cyclist Bram Tankink, who raced with broken ribs during his working career, spoke highly of his fellow Dutchman.

"In 10 days the fracture will heal naturally. In ten days the fracture will heal naturally. In ten days, the fracture will heal naturally, and then there will be a little more space. Once I coughed, I couldn't move anymore, and my ribs fell out. From then on, any movement I made caused me extreme pain."

Despite the pain and discomfort, Poels finished 168th out of 172 on Wednesday.

Rarely do the professional peloton agree on what to expect in the sport, but they were unanimous about stage 5 of the Tour de France. When race director Christian Prudhomme lowered the flag at kilometer 0, no one attacked. And no one attacked throughout the entire stage.

Mitchelton-Scott sport director Matt White said he could not recall seeing a stage in the Tour de France without a single breakaway.

"But this is no ordinary Tour de France. The first week was aggressive, but usually the invited teams and the local teams are always trying to send someone to the front. That was not the case today. It was a very calm stage until the last hour. The nerves, the wind, and the entry into certain towns amplified the anxiety, and the pace to the finish was very fast."

Simon Geschke (CCC Team) was particularly perplexed, writing on Twitter: "Today I was able to ride without any problems until 60km before the finish. In jeans and T-shirt. Average heart rate was 113."

Astana's sports manager, Dmitry Fofonov, said the team focused only on protecting Miguel Angel Lopez and did not attack at all.

"Indeed, it was a strange stage with no breakaway, but all the teams were worried about the wind in the final. "But we had another day in the Tour de France, and for us it was a very good day. We have another important stage tomorrow, so we'll see what happens there."

For the EF Pro Cycling team, Jens Kekelaar said it is not usual to have such an easy day at the Tour de France, but the hectic finish always makes up for it.

"There wasn't a breakaway group, so I wondered why we were running so much. About 10 kilometers from the finish, we hit a left-hand corner and a couple of guys fell off. If you don't pay attention, you can get dropped there," said Keukerer, who won a stage at the 2016 Vuelta a España.

"I think we did well, everyone was in a good position and we didn't lose time today," he said, while EF team leader Rigoberto Urán moved up to 14th overall after the stage.

Grand Tour veteran Matthieu Ladagnous of Groupama-FDJ blamed the difficulty of the early stages and the climbs to come.

"We had four difficult first stages and everyone must have been tired," Ladagnous said. 'We still have four difficult stages left until the rest day, and then it's a tough couple of weeks after that. If we have a calm day, I'm not going to say no." Apparently, there was no breakaway group, so everyone was happy with that."

Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) wrote on Twitter (see below) that no one dared to enter the breakaway on Wednesday, but he will try again on the next stage. Eat (not much), run, sleep, repeat again."