American rider Brandon McNulty won the fifth stage of the Paris-Nice race after a solo breakaway on Thursday but three-time Vuelta a Espana winner Primoz Roglic took over the leader's yellow jersey. 

As the race headed into the deep valleys of the Ardeche, previous leader Wout van Aert ran into difficulty on the Col de la Mure, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the finish line. Slovenian rider Roglic finished among the first peloton to cross the line, nearly six minutes behind McNulty, to take a 39-second lead in the overall standings. McNulty, a 23-year-old member of the UAE team, pulled away in the final half hour of the 188.8-kilometre stage for the fifth stage win of his career, with Frenchman Franck Bonnamour second, nearly two minutes behind, in front of another American, Matteo Jorgenson.

Friday's sixth stage is a 213.6km run from Courthezon to Aubagne.