The 5th stage of the Tour de France 2013 took place on July 3, 2013. It led from Cagnes-sur-Mer over 228.5 km to Marseille . In the course of the stage there was a mountain classification in the third category and three in the fourth category as well as a sprint classification. The fifth stage counted as a flat stage. 195 of the original 198 drivers started.
The stage began at 12:01 p.m. local time, around seven minutes later a six-man breakaway group pulled away from the main field. It consisted of Yukiya Arashiro , Kévin Réza , Alexei Lutsenko , Romain Sicard , Thomas De Gendt and Anthony Delaplace , who quickly expanded their lead to over five minutes. De Gendt secured the first mountain classification on the Côte de Châteauneuf Grasse ahead of Delaplace. The peloton was already over ten minutes behind the outliers, whose lead was now 12:45 minutes.
Thomas De Gendt was also the first to reach the Col de l'Ange, taking his third point in the mountain classification. He was also ahead in the intermediate sprint and won ahead of Lutsenko and Delaplace. The fastest in the peloton was André Greipel , he secured nine points in the sprint classification. As the race progressed, the gap between the leading group melted into the field, as the pace was increased there. Arashiro won the third mountain classification on the Côte de la Roquebrussanne.
After 167 kilometers, the outliers still had a lead of 6:50 minutes. As a result, Sicard and Delaplace fell behind, leaving only four drivers at the top. Sicard and Delaplace were soon overtaken by the peloton, while the four drivers in the lead were still about four minutes ahead. The last mountain point to be awarded on the Côte des Bastides was again De Gendt. The lead of the breakaway was soon less than a minute, the group split up, Arashiro and De Gendt were overtaken by the peloton eight kilometers from the finish. Lutsenko and Réza were also back in the peloton four kilometers from the finish line.
Mark Cavendish secured victory in the final sprint ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen and the wearer of the green jersey, Peter Sagan . However, the stage had no serious effects on the ratings of the tour.
