Froome holds firm on stage five

Chris Froome and Team Sky were more than equal to the task as the Tour de France hit the mountains for the first time on stage five.

Chris Froome and Team Sky were more than equal to the task as the Tour de France hit the mountains for the first time on stage five.

The Brit enjoyed strong support on an undulating run into Le Lioran, eventually finishing the 216-kilometre test amongst an elite group of favourites, enough to retain fifth overall.

Team Sky were a constant presence at the head of the peloton during the day, setting an initial tempo before turning the screw late on as the race exploded.

A select group formed, with Mikel Nieve, Sergio Henao and Geraint Thomas riding in support of Froome after Movistar had dropped the hammer on the second category Pas de Peyrol.

Up ahead, what had started life as a nine-man breakaway turned into a duel for the stage win and the yellow jersey. Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) pushed on to distance Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), eventually crossing the line 2:34 ahead of his compatriot to move into the Maillot Jaune.

Henao dug deep to shut down a dangerous move including Roman Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (both Movistar), and under the flamme rouge the group came back together to allow Froome to come home ninth.

Team Sky's leader now sits 5:17 behind leader van Avermaet, but suffered no significant time loss to his chief rivals as the race begins to heat up. Sergio Henao finished on the same time as his team-mate to elevate himself to 16th overall.

Froome happy to stay out of trouble

"For us it was about staying up front and not losing any time on those GC guys," Froome explained after the stage. "Those descents were pretty tricky and dangerous. Obviously we knew the breakaway was going to stay away today and the jersey's gone to Van Avermaet - he did a pretty impressive ride there!

"From our side we're happy with that. We're happy to stay out of trouble and it's one more day down. It wasn't really in our interest today [to send guys down the road]. We wanted to stay out of trouble. The big GC days are still to come. Today was one of those days where, yes it was selective, but it wasn't necessarily going to be a big showdown between the contenders themselves."

Luke Rowe arrived at the front to set the pace on behalf of the team after an hour of racing. Ian Stannard also took it up as Team Sky set the tempo, without feeling the need to bring back the men up the road.

The break continued to combine well out front and the gap spun out to 15 minutes, but as Movistar and Vasil Kiryienka moved forward, the speed increased and the team made sure Froome was positioned well over a narrow and technical run-in.

The high pace saw Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) drop significant time, while Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) slipped back late on as he battles back from injury, yet the remainder of the GC favourites marked one another to the finish.