Paris, Jul 11 (IANS): Slovakia's Peter Sagan sprinted to his 12th Tour de France stage win in Stage 5 of this year's event, while local favorite Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey.
Sprint specialist Sagan edged to the front with 300 meters remaining to the finish line to take victory in the 175.5 km stage which had begun in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Slovakian edged rising star Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Italy's Matteo Trentin to win the stage in 4:02:33.
Tim Wellens, Mads Wurtz Schmidt, Simon Clarke and Toms Skujins managed to break away from the peloton. Skujins was the last rider to be reeled in, 22km before the end in Colmar.
Bidding for his seventh green jersey representing the best sprinter, Sagan extends his advantage atop the sprint points ranking, while Wellens keeps the polka dot jersey awarded to the best climber.
Alaphilippe arrived at the finish in the peloton alongside other potential contenders, seeing no change in the standings. The Frenchman leads Van Aert, owner of the white jersey signalling the best young rider, by 14 seconds.
Thursday's sixth stage will kick off from Mulhouse, stretching 160.5 km en route to La Planche des Belles Filles.