Still on the downhill and Krists Neilands decides to attack.

Still a long way to the finish, you'd have thought from this range and given the quality of riders in the group behind this would prove a rather futile attempt.

UAE Team Emirates still pushing the pace. They won't be overly concerned just yet by the four-minute gap to the leading group even if the likes of Jai Hindley are in there.

Saying that they won't want that gap to creep up north of five minutes with the punchy Col d'Ichere and the category one Col de Marie-Blanque still on the menu.

Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) and Gregor Muhlberger (Movistar) join the 11 leaders.

Now here comes Julian Alaphilippe along with Esteban Chaves and Clement Berthez.

That's 17 riders at the front of the race with the peloton led by UAE Team Emirates some four minutes plus back.

Felix Gall rejoins with 10 other riders to form a pretty interesting leading group.

The other ten you ask are: Omar Fraile, Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Jai Hindley, Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) and Krists Neilands (Israel-PremierTech).

Meanwhile, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) is also closing in and you'd have thought that Julian Alaphilippe given his skill descending will get back on here as well.

Felix Gall descends (hopefully safely) into the gloom but there's no sign he's for hanging around after moving to the top of the virtual mountains classification.

Meanwhile, Daniel Martinez outsprints Giulio Ciccone at the top of the Cold de Soudet to pick up 15 KOM points, the Italian takes 12.

Felix Gall launches with the summit of the Col du Soudet in his sights. Well just about through the fog.

There's no catching the Austrian who will surely let up once he takes the 20 King of the Mountains points at the top.

Wout van Aert is cooked. Both he and Victor Campernaerts drop away and leave the likes of Krists Neilands, Giulio Ciccone and Felix Gall to press on.

Emanuel Buchmann and Daniel Martinez can't hold their wheels.

Giulio Ciccone puts the hammer down and bridges over to Wout van Aert and Victor Campernaerts. Jai Hindley, Emanuel Buchmann and Daniel Martinez are on the move as well.

Wout van Aert is just a machine. He continues to plough on with Victor Campenaerts straining every sinew just to hold his wheel at the front of the race.

Victor Lafay, winner of stage two and someone who was right up there with the very best on the punchy climbs around Bilbao on stage one is in trouble near the back of the main peloton.

There are now about six different groups scattered across the Col de Soudet.

At the front of the race, Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts drop Mads Pedersen, who looks like he's ready to drop into the chasing group, who are now just 30 seconds adrift.

As he does so, Julian Alaphilippe, in that merry band, ups the pace perhaps looking to whittle the numbers down a little.

Tadej Pogacar has a mechanical so drops off the back of the main bunch to grab a change of bike.

As he mounts his new one Mark Cavendish comes into view. He's not the only sprinter struggling mind, there have been repeated shots of Fabio Jakobsen, who hit the tarmac yesterday, in bother at the back.

Image source, ASO

The Col de Soudet, the first hors categorie climb of this year's Tour is coming into view and by the sounds of it the Ineos Grenadiers expect fireworks, well that is if you can see them given its apparently very foggy at the top.

"We need to be really ready because the GC guys may move already on this climb, so be ready for war on this next climb," says Steve Cummings, the Ineos sports director.

Time to bring you up to date with what's been going happening on the road. A few early crashes saw the likes of US national champion Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose and Dylan Teuns hit the deck.

A 36-man group, yes you read that right 36, managed to snap the elastic and zip off up the road but as it stands that leading group is down to three.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma),Victor Campanaerts (Lotto Dstny) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) lead the stage.

They are around 60 seconds ahead of a 33-man chasing group that includes Australian GC hopeful Jai Hindley, while the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Daniel Martinez and Rigoberto Uran are all in that mix.

The peloton, are another 1min 40secs back with the UAE Emirates team of Adam Yates and Tadej Pogacar currently being forced to do all the work at the front.

Two riders are non-starters today: Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) and Jacopo Guarnieri (Lotto-Dstny). They both broke a collarbone in the finale on Tuesday, with Italian sprinter Guarnieri also having broken ribs.

Now then, Jasper Philipsen won for the second day in a row amid a chaotic finish to stage four of the Tour de France in Nogaro.

But the GC race stayed pretty much as was although that could all change today if the man from Bury has to put in a shift in the service of his team leader, Tadej Pogacar, a little later on.

Tadej Pogacar, a two-time champion won his first stage at the Tour on a similar run from Pau to Laruns in 2020.

The first hors categorie climb, the energy sapping Col de Soudet, which is a 15.2km ascent at an average gradient of 7.2%, comes into view midway through the run to Laruns before the peloton hits the Col de Marie-Blanque, which ramps up to almost 14% in places.

You can read all about it in our stage-by-stage guide.

Image source, ASO

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our coverage of stage five of the Tour de France.

A trip into the Pyrenees comes early in this year's Tour as the race heads from Pau, a town in the foothills of the mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain, to Laruns.

If the last couple of days have been for the sprinters, today will very much see the general classification begin to take shape.