Etixx - Quick-Step rider Tony Martin will wear the yellow jersey as race leader for another day, thanks to staying safe and in front of the 189.5km Le Tour de France Stage 5 on Wednesday. The stage ended in the predicted bunch sprint despite rain and crosswinds before the final kilometers.

Mark Cavendish finished 3rd behind stage winner Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal), and 2nd place finisher Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo). 

Etixx - Quick-Step successfully kept Martin protected, with UCI World Road Champion Michal Kwiatkowski constantly guiding the German rider in the peloton. Cavendish was also supported well, including being paced back by three teammates to the peloton with 63.3km to go after a mechanical.

Matteo Trentin was involved in a crash, but finished the stage.

The pace of the peloton slowed down inside the final 30km after plenty of accelerations due to the winds, as well as crashes. Nacer bouhanni (Cofidis) was among the riders who crashed and was forced to abandon.

Etixx - Quick-Step riders Rigoberto Uran and Zdenek Stybar remain in 7th and 10th overall, respectively. 

Etixx Quick-Step looks next to 191.5km 6th Stage, from Abbeville to Le Havre, on Wednesday. The stage goes along the windy coast of Normandy. The parcours is undulating with three Category 4 ascents, and there is a small uphill going into the finish.

"It was a bit chaotic," Cavendish said. "I went around Sagan and I kicked, and I saw Demare kick, and on his right Kristoff. So if I pass I could drag strip Kristoff into the finish. Greipel and Sagan just came around past me at the end.

"I didn't feel great in the sprint, but no one felt great after a stage like today. I was going OK, but they just were going faster. Nothing went wrong. We were a man short in the end as Matteo was not 100 percent after his crash today. But really I was just beaten by two very strong guys. One of them already won a stage, this is his second, and he's in the green jersey. So congratulations to Greipel as he deserves this victory.

"My teammates efforts today in setting me up for the sprint, and protecting Tony in yellow, absolutely complemented each other. I have to give them a lot of credit for how well they were going. We stayed in front the whole day and both objectives required that.

"Now we look forward to tomorrow. It's a bit difficult for the pure sprinters, that finish. But there are 21 stages at the Tour de France. There are still a few more opportunities.

"My confidence is good. I think everyone still has high morale after Tony's win yesterday, and I think for sure we'll keep going to try to get more wins at this Tour."