Sagan EXPLODES to Stage 5 Win!

I love watching Peter Sagan on a bicycle!  Peter the Great absolutely exploded inside 200 m to the finish line and won Stage 5.  No second place for Sagan today!  Check him out going across the line (click on image for a larger view).

He then went into Hulk mode, perhaps letting the cycling world know that the green jersey is his and his alone (click on image for a larger view).

Today's hilly stage had some impressive climbing.  Check out Xandro Meurisse after he was the first to reach the top of Côte des Cinq Châteaux (click on image for a larger view).

His was hitting a speed of 20 kph (12 mph) on a 10% part of the climb.  Wow!

We did a lot better today with our prediction, as you'll see below.

• Stage 05:  4h 02' 33" (actual), 4h 13' 41" (prediction), 11' 08' slow (4.59% error)

I still want that error under 3%, but I'll definitely take today's error after the past two stages.  Racing conditions were perfect today.  The European heat wave is gone, temperatures were in the 21°C - 25°C (70°F - 77°F) range, and climbs where crosswinds could have been a problem had lovely trees around the riders.  Racing was just a tad faster than we thought it would be.  Sagan's average speed is given below.

• Stage 05:  12.06 m/s (43.41 kph or 26.98 mph)

Tomorrow's 160.5-km (99.7-mi) Stage 6 is the year's first mountain stage, and it looks to be a fun ride.  The stage begins in Mulhouse, very near the French borders with Germany and Switzerland.  Riders will have a mostly category-1 climb to near the peak of Grand Ballon.  They'll reach a stage-high altitude of 1336 m (4380 ft).  A category-1 climb to near the peak of Ballon d'Alsace occurs just past halfway into the stage.  What I'm anxious to watch is the final category-1 climb to the finish at La Planche des Belles Filles, right in the Vosges Mountains.  Climbers will be on full display tomorrow!  Our prediction is given below.

• Stage 06:  4h 24' 40" (prediction)

Will we be a bit slow again?  The cyclists impress me this year!