Australian Jai Hindley has taken the lead in the Tour de France after winning the fifth stage of cycling's premier race.
The West Australian won the 162.4km mountain trek from Pau to Laruns to take the overall leader's yellow jersey from Briton Adam Yates..
Hindley, winner of last year's Giro d'Italia, marked himself out as a major contender with the breakaway victory on Wednesday.
However, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard underlined his own claims, with a fifth place finish leaving him 47 seconds down on Hindley.
The pair left behind two-time winner Tadej Pogacar on the final climb as an early trip to the Pyrenees ripped up the general classification.
Preliminary results also showed Giulio Ciccone third, 63 seconds down.
The first real mountain battle of the Tour lit up the race as Hindley got himself into a 36-man early breakaway with rival teams putting the pressure on Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates to close the gap in what turned into a fascinating tactical battle.
They struggled to do so as the break pulled as much as four minutes clear on the Col de Soudet midway through the stage.
Though the advantage would tumble later on, BORA-Hansgrohe rider Hindley broke away from his fellow escapees on the final climb of the Col de Marie Blanque for a significant victory.
with agencies
