Yates takes yellow jersey after Alaphilippe penalty, Van Aert wins stage five

Adam Yates took the yellow jersey after Julian Alaphilippe was given a 20-second penalty on a fifth stage of the Tour de France that was won by Wout van Aert.

Alaphilippe's bid to win the prestigious race on home soil suffered a big blow when he was sanctioned for an illegal feed in the final 20 kilometres of a somewhat sedate 183 kilometres ride from Gap to Privas.

Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates therefore takes over as the race leader with an advantage of three seconds over Primoz Roglic, with Alaphilippe dropping back to 16 seconds adrift of the Brit following the intervention of the officials

Jumbo-Visma celebrated a second stage win in a row as Belgian Van Aert pipped Cees Bol on the line for a second career stage win on Le Tour, a day after team-mate Roglic's triumph at Ocieres-Merlette.

There were no clear breakaways as the riders reached the final 10km and a roundabout-riddled route through the Rhone Valley.

Team INEOS stretched the peloton briefly but it was a packed group that entered the winding final 1500 metres before Van Aert, Bol and Sam Bennett led the charge to the line.

Van Aert reached 67.7km/h to claim a sixth victory since the beginning of August by little more than half a wheel.

Tour officials later confirmed Alaphilippe's penalty for an "unauthorised supply pick-up" to put Yates in yellow, while Bennett becomes just the third Irishman to wear the green jersey as the great Peter Sagan dropped to second in the points classification.

EASY DOES IT

While he timed his controlled sprint superbly, Van Aert felt the stage as a whole was the most comfortable he has experienced.

"It was a hectic finish. It was maybe the most easy stage I ever did in a cycling race with no breakaway, not a high pace at all," said the 25-year-old.

"I knew it was a stage that suited me and I'm just so happy I got an opportunity from the team to go for it."

STAGE RESULT

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 4:21:22

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) 22:28:30

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 123

King of the Mountains

1. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) 23

WHAT'S NEXT

Stage six covers the 191km route from Le Teil to Mont Aigoual, featuring a daunting climb to the Col de la Lusette, the summit of which is only around 15km from the finish.