Remco’s ability to pull time back late in the stage, after
being down at earlier splits, impressed the group. His ride not only secured
the stage win but vaulted him into second overall on GC, just 42 seconds behind
Tadej Pogaar.

“He went off before the other GC guys… the weather had
changed a little bit… and he still finished strongest,” Wiggins pointed out,
and Hincapie agreed: “To pull it off with the whole world expecting you to win
is even more impressive.”

Kevin Vauquelin’s fifth-place finish and rise to third on GC
didn’t go unnoticed either. “This kid has been getting better and better,”
Armstrong said. “He’s not been seen as the next great French rider, but now
he’s third in the Tour… the team he chooses next is going to define his
trajectory.”

Still, much of the focus turned to the rider who lost the
most: two time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane was many
people’s favourite to wear the yellow jersey at the end of the stage, as he had
comfortably beaten Pogacar when the Slovenian struggled in the Dauphine’s time
trial. But, yesterday the tables were turned.

“He finished 13th on the stage… a minute and 21 behind. It
just never looked like he was having a great ride,” Armstrong said. “You have
to look at this performance and say something’s up.”

There was speculation that Vingegaard may be paying the
price for repeated high-intensity efforts earlier in the race. The day before,
on stage 4, the Dane said that he had achieved his best one minute power output
on the day’s final explosive climb. “That might have something to do with it,”
said Wiggins. “Perhaps the damage you do from those type of efforts… you’ve got
to ride 33–36 minutes on the threshold.”

The group also questioned whether Team Visma | Lease a Bike
would continue to back Vingegaard as sole leader.

“He’s on the back foot now… Matteo Jorgenson is right on his
heels,” Wiggins said. “Visma really have to think about a two-pronged attack.”

Armstrong echoed the point: “Matteo can climb. Matteo has
experience. Matteo is on the way up. They’re going to have to look at alternate
solutions now.”

Meanwhile, Pogacar again left little doubt about his form,
and incredibly was just 16 seconds behind Evenepoel in the time trial. “We’re
running out of superlatives for this guy,” Wiggins said. “It’s hard to see
anyone dislodging him over the next two and a half weeks.”

Looking ahead, Stage 6 was flagged as deceptively brutal,
with plenty of climbing and an excellent finish for the puncheurs. This could
be bad news for Vingegaard if he is still suffering, but good news for fans who
want to see Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel battle again.

“You open it up… and think, ‘Oh lord,’” Armstrong said. “It
looks like a saw blade.”

There was debate over whether UAE would try to control the
race or let the breakaway go. “I’d be really surprised if they put UAE on the
front to control that,” Hincapie said. “But someone always steps forward…
someone always ends up working.”