Frenchman Thomas Voeckler took victory on stage 5 of the Tour de France in Perpignan after jumping clear of a breakaway. The Bouygues Telecom man made the decisive break four kilometres from home, using a roundabout to launch his attack and secure his maiden Tour win. Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) was second, while the rest of the breakaway was swallowed up by a fast-moving peloton, led home by Columbia’s Mark Cavendish, who extended his lead over Thor Hushovd in the sprinters’ points classification.

Il francese Voeckler ha vinto in solitario la quinta tappa da Le Cap d’Agde a Perpignan di 196,5 km: “Mi sono detto: proviamo. Prima ancora di partire si sapeva che sarebbe nata una fuga”. Sesto Napolitano, incerottati gli altri italiani. Lo svizzero Cancellara conserva la maglia di leader.