Some stories are turned right on their head in the final few lines - Atonement by Ewan McGregor being a classic example.

And so it was with stage 17 in the Tour de France, when Lidl Trek's Mads Pedersen's grip on the green jersey, which looked like it was going to be utterly unbreakable for most of the day, was dramatically loosened by an extraordinary fight back from Jasper Philipsen, who secured his first victory of the 2026 Tour, helped by a team effort from the Alpecin-Premier Tech squad.

After yesterday, Pedersen had a 31-point lead in the points classification, and he rode aggressively all day, being named the most combative rider of the day for his dogged refusal not to be part of any group that tried to escape and extending his lead at the intermediate sprint.

But after Philipsen was launched into the finish straight by Mathieu van der Poel, to take a memorable victory in Voiron and bagging 50 points in the process, the gap was slashed to seven.

“It was a proper s**t day,” Pedersen said at the finish. “Super disappointed I didn’t get the job done. It’s a big loss of points. But it is what it is, we just have to deal with the situation.”

The mood at the Lidl Trek bus was equally downbeat. "It’s tight," conceded Kim Andersen, the team's sports director, when Cycling Weekly caught up with him. "He has to pick up some points. Of course, he was hoping for more, but it is like it is. It was a good fight. He's still in front, so...

"I think we didn't calculate that others would help them out, because if it was just Philipsen it would have been okay, just Alpecin in it, things would have been okay," he continued. "But now it gets a bit tight."

Philipsen, buoyed though he might be by the result, cannily played down his chances of taking the green jersey. "It'll be very hard," he said in the press conference after the stage. "He [Pedersen] also took 25 points in the intermediate today. He was in front, so he made it very hard.

"The next three days are very tough with the intermediate, the chance I will not be there is pretty high. Pedersen is climbing well so he can gain some points again. We will see where we are in Paris on Sunday, and we'll see what's possible."

What is for sure, is that in a race that some people have said lacks unpredictability and drama, due to the undeniable dominance of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), the story of who takes home the green jersey this year still promises a few twists.

Jasper Philipsen achieved atonement for his finish-line loss to Ben Turner here in Voiron during the 2025 Vuelta Espana, but will it be enough to propel him to victory in the race for the green jersey in the 2026 Tour de France? We may have to wait until the final page and the much-anticipated Parisian stage to find out.

Jasper Philipsen came off Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel to launch an unanswerable sprint to win stage 17 of the Tour de France in Voiron.

The day had been one of the most chaotic of this year’s Tour with attacks, counter-attacks and splits throughout the day.

But eventually a reduced front group containing several sprinters including Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) and Aaron Gates (Astana-XDS) contested the victory.

Speaking after the finish Philipsen said: “It has been such a rollercoaster of emotions at this Tour de France, having to wait until stage 17. I prepared very, very well I was in the shape of my life I think but the first 12 stages were just horrible I couldn’t find the feeling I was hoping for.

“It’s really one for the team that keep on believing in me. I want to thank everybody because I’ve been like an angry bird at the [dinner] table, I was just disappointed in myself and angry that I couldn’t take a stage win.”

He added: “I doubted myself. I did everything I could before this Tour, I did amazing preparation with the team, but I just was not myself. Was it because of the heat, because it was really horrible? Or was it something else? I don’t know.

“Mentally it was really tough with all the sh*t you get, read my Instagram. I just tried to be with my team-mates in our own bubble and just working towards the next goals, but it’s always a rollercoaster of emotions at the Tour de France in July.”

In a stage marked by chaos, the Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter hadn’t always been in the front of the race and had to dig deep to make it back to the main break before the finish.

He said: “This victory cost me a few years of my life I was fighting somewhere in the middle between groups, I thought the stage was lost. In the end they were super strong and delivered me to the finish line.”

Philipsen’s victory injected new vigour into the competition for the Tour’s green jersey because the leader of that competition Mads Pedersen was only able to place eighth.

The Belgian is now just seven points between Pedersen after claiming 50 for the win. He said: “The next stages are very, very tough but I’ll keep fighting until Paris.”

The day had been marked by chaos that saw the break take 75km to form. One of the major animators of that was Pedersen who seemed to want to be in every group that tried to go clear. He’d be awarded the most combative rider prize at the end of the day.

He was rewarded for those efforts by taking maximum 25 points at the intermediate sprint, which was placed 147km into the 175km stage.

Immediately afterwards, Stuyven attacked attempting to complete the stage’s final 25km alone.

With 16km to go he had built a lead of 45 seconds. The Belgian, who hasn’t won a race since he was victorious in Milan-San Remo in 2021, was riding strongly but behind Pederson’s group was caught by the large breakaway group that contained several sprinters including Philipsen, Pedersen and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) all eager to contest the win.

With more than 40 riders bearing down on him his gap began to erode. By 10km to go it had fallen to 31 seconds.

Alpecin-Premier Tech and Jayco-AlUla were contributing heavily to the chase and by 5km to go Stuyven’s advantage had dropped to 20 seconds.

With 3.5km to race the Belgian powerhouse was finally caught, prompting a flurry of counter-attacks but they were all shut down and the group contested the win.

Stage 17 was not one for the GC men, but Adam Yates (UAE Emirates-XRG) team-mate of yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar raising questions about whether the Tour leader might be at risk of getting sick.

Results

Tour de France 2026, stage 17: Chambery > Voiron (175km)

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in 03:41:13
2. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco-AlUla)
3. OlavKooij (Decathlon CMA CGM)
4. Lewis Askey (NSN Pro Cycling)
5. Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling)
6. Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ United)
7. Huub Artz (Lotto-Intermarché)
8. MadsPedersen (Lidl-Trek)
9. Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-AlUla)
10. AaronGate (XDS Astana) all at same time

Tour de France 2026 general classification after stage 17

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 60:04:17
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Redu Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +4:32
3. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +6:51
4. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, +7:11
5. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +9:22
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek,+10:14
7. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain-Victorious, +12:50
8. Tom Pidcock (Gbr), Pinarello Q36.5, +12:58
9. Jordan Jegat (Fra) ToralEnergies, +14:04
10. Yannis Voisard (Sui) Tudor Pro Cycling, +24:18

Jasper Philipsen was relegated then reinstated after finishing third in the bunch sprint on stage 11 of the Tour de France on Wednesday, on an odd early evening in Nevers.

The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider was punished by the race jury after he appeared to move into a Picnic PostNL rider in the final 500m of the stage, however, after discussion with the team, the Belgian was reinstated. The stage was won by Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), with Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) in second.

In the space of an hour, the team went from being reasonably pleased with third place, to being confused and disappointed, back to close to their original state.

Philipsen later said: "I didn't do anything on purpose or anything wrong.

"[Relegation] was another disappointment, because I didn't know what happened during the sprint. It was hectic like it always is at the Tour. There was one moment I had a contact with a rider from Picnic, but that's because the speed had dropped a lot. The riders from behind had a lot more speed.

"I didn't do anything on purpose or anything wrong. I'm happy that they reconsidered it. It's good that the third place is there. It's not a win... but the Tour is not over yet."

The news that Philipsen had been relegated filtered through just under half an hour after the stage, completely changing the mood at the team bus, before that decision was reversed half an hour later further. The Belgian sprinter was informed of the relegation while in an ice bath inside Alpecin-Premier Tech's ice truck, which might have cooled his mood somewhat.

"We don't know which phase it is," Philip Roodhooft, the team's manager, said immediately after the original relegation. "I think consistency is the key to every rule. If it's not applied for everybody in the same way, then that creates trouble, but I don't think anybody has a special eye on Jasper, I think it takes us too far to think that.

"On the other hand, from his position, now being disqualified and getting a yellow card, I think he feels like somebody has an eye on him, I think that's normal."

Twenty minutes later, Christoph Roodhooft, the team's head sports director, told Wielerflits: "It is better the way it is. I think it is only fair. It was a good meeting. We reviewed everything together, and those people had a lot more footage than what we had seen. And ultimately, they consulted again and the decision was reversed.

"It is not easy for anyone here and everything has to happen quickly. I think it is good how things turned out."

Earlier, a chipper Christoph said: "When he says afterwards that he had the legs to be there for the win, that's nice to hear after the difficult stages and sprints he had. For sure there's big progress and that's important."

Philipsen, for his part, added: "We had a positive feeling about my sprint, that was the first time good at this Tour. I was happy with my performance. The sprint was just a strange finish, no-one expected this kind of finish. Everyone stopped and looked at each other with 400m to go. It was a missed opportunity for us."

The team were not left delighted, after all, they finished third, but they were relieved at not being relegated further. Philipsen will now be heartened ahead of the next sprint opportunity, which comes on Thursday's stage 12.

Alpecin-Premier Tech’s team bosses have urged patience after their sprinter Jasper Philipsen fell short of victory again at the Tour de France on Saturday.

The Belgian, a 10-time stage winner across his seven race starts, placed fourth in Bergerac on day eight, won by Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier. The result followed two fifth places in bunch sprints for Philipsen, on stages five and seven, which left him perplexed by the lack of his usual top speed.

Speaking outside the Alpecin-Premier Tech bus in Bergerac, the team’s manager Philip Roodhooft said it was “way too early to draw conclusions” about Philipsen’s form.

“We have no doubts about the preparation,” he said. “We have no doubts about the potential. Everyone has seen that the team and the lead-outs are more than strong enough to bring him where he has to be. We’re still very confident that it will lead to Jasper winning a stage.”

Guided to the line by his team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, Philipsen launched his sprint inside 200m to go on Saturday, by which time Merlier had already gathered his race-winning pace from behind.

Asked about the lead-out, Alpecin’s head sports director Christoph Roodhoft, Philip’s brother, said the team “cannot do it better”.

“Yesterday [Jasper] was maybe a bit too early, today he was maybe a bit too late. Maybe next time we will do it right on time,” Christoph said.

“It is not completely missed opportunities. We had chances, and we did not win, but that’s not the only thing. It’s not that easy to win on this level, let’s say. Sometimes it seems like that, but when it doesn’t work out immediately, then you realise this is a hell of a job.”

Alpecin-Premier Tech were one of the most successful squads at last year's Tour, winning three stages, including on the opening day in Lille thanks to Philipsen. The team also enjoyed five days in the yellow jersey, split between Philipsen and Van der Poel.

Their fortunes, it’s clear, are not the same this time round. But as Christoph stressed, the team has had to be patient for success in the past.

“Two years ago we had to wait until stage 10 [for a stage win]. We’re only at eight today, so even if it doesn’t happen then, we can only try,” he said.

Philip shared the same feeling. “Obviously it’s not what we hoped, but we remain confident,” he said. “It’s clear that we’d have liked it to be different at this point but that doesn’t change anything and the fact that the Tour de France is for three weeks, and there will be other occasions.

“Let it also be clear that we weren’t expecting to win all the sprints. We still have a lot of confidence that we as a team, and Jasper as the finisher, will be able to win sprints.”

Philipsen did not address the media on returning to his team bus after stage eight. A team press officer said he would not speak as he had to leave to carry out a routine anti-doping test.

Things aren’t clicking for Jasper Philipsen at this Tour de France. The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider is a 10-time stage winner, a former green jersey wearer, but from two sprints this edition, he’s only managed to scrape a pair of fifth places.

The results have left him baffled, wondering why he’s not at his best. “We just have to look into it,” Philipsen said after stage seven in Bordeaux. “The only thing I can say is that I did everything I could, I rode as fast as possible, but it was not fast enough.”

Victory on Friday’s seventh stage went to Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier. To get back to his team bus post-race, Philipsen had to ride past Merlier’s, parked closer to the finish line on the bank of the Garonne river, where fans had begun to congregate to celebrate his win.

It's a scene that Philipsen has grown used to having around him at the Tour over the years; in each of his last four participations, he has won at least one stage. In 2023, he won four.

So what’s going wrong? Where’s the sprinter that, just three years ago, won on the same stretch of road outside Bordeaux's Place de la Bourse?

“I don’t know,” Philipsen said. “It was a really good lead-out. Everybody did what they were capable of and it was a really amazing team effort, so I’m really happy with that. But of course, disappointed with my own legs, my own sprint. That was just not how it should be and how my legs should be.”

After stage five in Pau, won by Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), Philipsen spoke of a similar lack of power. “I was quickly on the limit – not how I normally feel in a bunch sprint,” he had said.

But neither then, nor on Friday, was his tone downcast. If anything, he leant more towards optimism. “We just take it day by day,” he said. “Hopefully in the coming days it will come.”

It bears reminding that the opening week of this year’s Tour has been more attritional than usual.

Philipsen won stage one's bunch sprint in Lille last year, earning the race’s first yellow jersey, but this time round he had to wait until day five for his first shot at a flat finish. Already, he has faced an arduous team time trial, a hilltop finish, two mountain stages, and a near-40°C day.

Perhaps it’s the heat that has held back his punch? “The heat is there for everybody,” he said, quick to avoid excuses. “It’s been really demanding for the body, the muscles are sore, but we try to tackle it as well as possible. So far, it’s going OK.”

Philipsen’s Alpecin-Premier Tech sports director, Christoph Roodhooft, also saw no clear reason for the missed sprint opportunities. “If we could explain it, it would not happen,” he said.

“The lead-out was all perfect [in Bordeaux], nothing to say about it. Jasper launched his sprint, and he could not take up the speed he usually has.

“We do not blame Jasper,” Roodhooft continued. “It’s just what it is. It’s sport and he’s human.”

Fortunately, Philipsen and his team will not have to wait long for their next sprint opportunity; Saturday’s eighth stage to Bergerac offers another flat finish, another chance to taste victory at the Tour.

It took him until stage 10 to win in 2024. He then went on to win twice more in that edition. Don’t write off Philipsen just yet.

After a late catch by the peloton, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) produced an incredibly strong sprint to win In Flanders Fields, as he beat Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) at the finish in Wevelgem to take an emphatic victory.

The Belgian rider had been left disappointed after narrowly missing out on the win at the Ronde Van Brugge earlier in the week, but was back to his best in the final sprint, as a gap opened up for him along the barriers, which gave him just enough space to emerge from the slipstream and launch for the line.

“It’s one I’ve been chasing for a long time,” said Philipsen in his post-race interview. “It’s a Classic that I’ve wanted to win for many years, but never really had the legs at the end. Everything came together today and I was able to take the victory.”

His teammate Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) had been up the road with Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) after the pair bridged across to the early breakaway with 57km to go and then went clear on the final ascent of the Kemelberg. However, they were eventually caught by the peloton just before they went under the flamme rouge, setting up a sprint from the reduced bunch after a late attack from Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) was also reeled in.

“With Mathieu in the front, it was an ideal situation for our team. He told us already quite some kilometres before the final that he didn’t have the best legs because of Friday, but if you can still ride away with two in the end, then his legs weren’t too bad,” said Philipsen.

Efforts from the sprinters’ teams in the peloton behind saw the leading pair gradually brought back on the long run-in to the finish after the final climb, with Philipsen stating that, “I knew from the past that the finish is always quite long and it’s difficult to have fresh legs in the end. That’s what I needed today to gamble on the sprint and take the win.”

The final sprint was hectic, with very few riders left from each team to do a leadout for their sprinter.

“It was not easy,” said Philipsen. “We did the leadout with Jonas Geens and Florian Sénéchal, who are both new to the team, so for them it’s also new to find the perfect moment, find each other and work together. I think we had a good plan, so it’s really nice to make it happen and finish it off together with those teammates.”

This victory sees Philipsen get back to winning ways after a disappointing runner-up finish at the Ronde Van Brugge earlier in the week. It also marks his first WorldTour win of the season, with his only other victory prior to this race coming at Nokere Koerse earlier this month.

It has certainly been a quieter start to the year than the Belgian sprinter would have hoped for, but with major objectives of his Spring Classics campaign coming up at races such as Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix, he could be hitting form at the perfect time.

Results

In Flanders Fields Men 2026: Middelkerke > Wevelgem (241km)

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech, in 5:08:03
2. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) Decathlon CMA CGM
3. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto Intermarché
5. Robert Donaldson (GBr) Jayco AlUla
6. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Tudor Pro Cycling
7. Luca Mozzato (Ita) Tudor Pro Cycling
8. Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling
9. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
10. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Lidl-Trek, all at same time

Jasper Philipsen was on cloud nine on Saturday afternoon; the Belgian sprinter had just pulled off a masterstroke in Lille to pull on the first yellow jersey at this Tour de France, but little did he know that the same elation he experienced would soon be switched for pain and anguish after coming down hard on the road to Dunkirk three days later.

Philipsen flew over his handlebars and slammed into the floor at speed after Cofidis's Bryan Coquard collided into him at the day’s intermediate sprint point. The force of the impact tore his green jersey and left him in a heap. His team later confirmed that he had suffered a displaced collarbone fracture and two broken ribs, and would undergo surgery in Herentals, Belgium.

Alpecin-Deceuninck's co-team owner, Philip Roodhooft, spoke to reporters gathered outside the team bus at the finish.

"Jasper was a victim of something he was totally not involved in, that's clear," he said. "To be honest, the two others, they collide or crash but this is not about blaming. It was just a stupid crash, something that can happen.

"The consequences are for Jasper and us as a team, mainly though for Jasper himself the consequences are very bad. But what can you say? Bad things happen sometimes."

"I think everybody who saw that feels bad about it," he added. "What can you say? It impacts us when you see it happening somewhere else; like on the first stage when Filippo Ganna was out of the race on Saturday. You feel bad luck for them [Ineos Grenadiers] but then you move on. Then of course, when it comes closer you live that differently and I think that’s normal."

As well as winning in Lille on day one, Alpecin currently have Mathieu van der Poel in the yellow jersey after his victory in a hilltop sprint in Bolougne-sur-Mer on Sunday. The team stand a chance of winning again in Rouen on Tuesday to get back on track in another stage tailored towards the likes of the Classics specialist.

"I think at this moment it's not something to talk about, moving forward," Roofhoft said, when asked about Alpecin's chances of another win.

"Jasper is still in the hospital, his clothes are also burned, his back was very badly burned with road rash so I don’t think we should be talking today about how we continue. We know we have to continue, Jasper would want us to continue, but at the moment it is just not right to talk about that."

Australian sprinter Kaden Groves felt differently to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss when he arrived back at the bus and completed a quick warm down before speaking to reporters, his white helmet visibly spattered with mud and grime from another wind- and rain- affected stage.

"We need to come up with a plan for tomorrow," he said. "Mathieu is still in yellow and in super shape. We need to, of course, keep Jasper in our minds but we also need to move on with the race."

"It's an emotional moment for us," Groves said. "Obviously the goal to win stage one and take the yellow jersey was achieved. But once Jasper lost yellow we wanted to then chase the green jersey for him to try and win that for the second time.

"It's the Tour de France, it's life changing to win a stage here and we see people taking lots of risks for this. I was in front of Jasper, so I didn’t see too much. I'm also not sure about why it happened but I assume that it was a racing incident and I don’t want to comment until I’ve seen the footage.

"Considering we won the first two stages then I guess there's then a lot of pressure on other teams to perform. Whether that pressure is coming from sponsors or team cars it makes the racing that much more aggressive and we saw that today."

Jasper Philipsen took a while to get off the mark at last year's Tour de France, his first win not arriving until stage 10, but the Belgian fastman wasted no time this time around, powering to victory on the opening day of the 2025 edition to pull on the yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

Philipsen struggled to get the better of Biniam Girmay in the first half of last year's race, but he beat the Eritrean emphatically on the Boulevard Vauban in the heart of Lille.

Having only taken two wins to date this season, Philipsen came into the Tour as the slight underdog for yellow behind the likes of the more in-form Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

But once crosswinds began to rip through the peloton, splitting the bunch in two, Philipsen and his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates – led by Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel – came alive, while both Merlier and Milan were caught behind.

"We knew they [echelons] could happen, but we didn't know when exactly,” Philipsen said afterwards.

“We just knew we had to be in front and stay focused and attentive all day. We were with the guys that were needed for the leadout in the final in the echelons and everyone was on a really strong level.

"It was definitely a team effort, a team job, and I'm proud of how we rode; everyone is in great shape. It gives us a lot of motivation for the coming days."

Philipsen was guided to the finish line by four of his teammates, including Van der Poel and nine-time Grand Tour stage winner Kaden Groves.

"I didn’t know who was there exactly," Philipsen said of the make-up of the front bunch. "I just knew we were there with our squad and our train. It was important to have all of the strong guys there for the sprint.

"But after a while I didn't see Merlier or Milan there. I also didn't know how far they were behind and I didn't know if they were coming back. We were just there and tried to fight for position, be there for the team and focus on the sprint."

Enjoying the moment

Stage two is set to be a Classics-style test with an uphill finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer, a parcours which, on paper, would seem made for the likes of Van der Poel.

Philipsen has managed to get over the Poggio to win Milan-San Remo in the past, but the 27-year-old could find himself distanced if the stage evolves into an early GC skirmish, as some have predicted on the ground in France.

"We haven't checked too much the second stage yet – we focused on today and tomorrow is a new day," Philipsen answered when asked if he thought he would be passing yellow to his teammate in Boulogne.

"We haven’t had the chance to look too much into it but I’m for sure I'm going enjoy it and give everything I have tomorrow as we always aim for the highest chances of victory.

"If it's through me or Mathieu then we’ll have to see tomorrow. There's a lot of nice opportunities coming for the team and for Mathieu especially. Let's see tomorrow what happens but I'm going to enjoy this moment as well.

"I’m going to be really proud to wear it, with a lot of joy at least for one day and enjoy this with the team."

Jasper Philipsen says Alpecin Deceuninck will be fully prepared and ready to deal with the favourite tag during the Spring Classics next season after the team’s early season dominance last time out.

The Belgium team won all three of the opening Monuments through Mathieu van der Poel and Philipsen himself. Van der Poel won Paris-Roubaix for a second time after winning the Tour of Flanders once more in only his fourth race day of the season. Meanwhile, Philipsen kickstarted the squad’s fine early season run with victory at Milan-San Remo.

Philipsen has gradually begun to build an identity for himself as far more than just a sprinter. His two consecutive second places at Roubaix behind his teammate only helped to continue to build that narrative.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly at Alpecin-Deceuninck’s winter training camp in Spain, Philipsen said that the Classics have begun to have equal importance for him on an individual basis alongside the Tour de France and targeting the green sprinters jersey.

"During the season we’re looking more towards the Classics races for me now and also training for these specific races regularly," he explained. "Going to the Tour de France I’ll then look to try and improve more in the sprints and focus on that but I think what we did last year went quite well so we will try to do more or less the same for me and try to have a successful spring campaign.

"I’ll always be a sprinter and the sprints will be my strength, but it’s not going to be the main focus for the first part of the year for me."

"We’re still figuring out the details of my program but there will be no Tour Down Under or anything like that," he added. "Last year went really well so we don’t need to adapt too many things. We’ll switch my training after the Classics and start to tailor things towards sprinting again but it’s more or less a similar approach."

"I was really happy with how it all went," he explained as he reflected back on 2024. "To do what we did [at Paris-Roubaix] for two years in a row was really quite special. Next year all eyes will be on us but we will be ready.

"It would be great for us to win again at Roubaix but I will just be happy if I’m good and maybe win another Classic. It’s really hard to just specifically target one because it means you need to be really 100% perfect and there’s many circumstances that can get in the way."

Philipsen joked that it was a relief to be in Dénia on the Costa Blanca once more after foul winter weather had begun to take hold back home in Belgium. The 26-year-old has spent a large amount of training time on Zwift but was relishing the opportunity to be out on the road once more with his teammates in the south of Spain.

"It’s a bit of an evolution coming here," he said. "I think one team started it, then others followed and eventually the whole bunch was here. Every year you see more and more people coming down here and you see more and more amateurs and younger riders too. Some of the guys stay here for months now in order to prepare for the new season."

"In Belgium it’s always raining so I usually just go on Zwift," he added. "If it’s a shorter ride and I don’t want to go out on the road then I use it then as well. I don’t really like to train just on rollers so this helps make it more interactive and just more fun. It’s a cool alternative to have."

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed his third victory at this year's Tour de France, cruising ahead of Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) in Nîmes on stage 16. 

Despite a frustrating start to the race, winless in the first nine stages, the Belgian began the third week as he finished the second, with his arms in his air, celebrating at 70km/h. 

The victory meant Philipsen is now back in the running for the green jersey. Its wearer, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), was unable to contest the bunch sprint after crashing inside 2km to go. He crossed the line minutes later, wheeled softly by his teammates. 

The day was a poignant one for Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan), record-breaker on stage five, who contested his final sprint finish at the Tour. The Brit placed 17th on the day, in the same city he won his fourth stage on his race debut in 2008. 

The top three on the general classification went unchanged on stage 16, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) still leading Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) by three minutes and nine seconds. 

How it happened

Stage 16 brought the eighth and final opportunity for the fastmen at this year's Tour de France, offering them a straightforward course along the Mediterranean Coast, between Gruissan and Nîmes. 

Keen to protect their sprinters' last chance at glory, teams were cautious about letting a breakaway go after the flag drop. Alpecin-Deceuninck policed moves from the front of the peloton, controlling the bunch for Philipsen, who set out to draw level with Girmay on three stage wins apiece in this edition of the race. 

The first flash of excitement came at the halfway point, with 92km to go, when an intermediate sprint provided a dress rehearsal for the finale. Set up by Alpecin-Deceuninck, the dash was won unexpectedly by Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), a man still in search of his first Grand Tour stage win. Philipsen crossed the line second, and in doing so, clawed back minor green jersey points on Girmay, who placed fourth. 

TotalEnergies rider Thomas Gachignard then used the momentary lull after the sprint to launch a solo move. He nudged out his advantage to over two minutes, but, alone in 35-degree heat, and with a slight headwind, the Frenchman's attack never looked like it would last. He was caught with 25km to go, after 65km out front, and received the day's combativity prize for his effort.

Attention swiftly turned to the run-in to Nîmes, and a succession of roundabouts the bunch would have to navigate. Inside 2km to go, it was on one of them that Girmay hit the floor, ruling out his pop at a fourth stage win. 

Uno-X led under the flamme rouge, before Alpecin-Deceuninck bustled their way to the front of the pack. With 400m to go, Mathieu van der Poel, the world champion, stretched out the peloton with his final lead-out dig, clearing space for Philipsen to lash away from his sprint rivals and cross the line first. 

The race returns to the mountains on Wednesday, with a summit finish to SuperDévoluy, a ski resort in the Alps. 

Results

Tour de france 2024, stage 16: Gruissan > Nîmes (188.6km)

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4:11:27
2. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Victorious
3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
4. Sam Bennett (Irl) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
5. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Israel-Premier Tech
7. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
8. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
9. Ryan Gibbons (Zaf) Lidl-Trek
10. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, all at same time

General classification after stage 16

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 67:35:56
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:09
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +5:19
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +10:54
5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal-Quick Step, +11:21
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +11:27
7. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +13:38
8. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +15:48
9. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +16:12
10. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain Victorious, +16:32

This time, the allegation seemed less fair and a tad more desperate, but it continued the trend of accusations being levelled at Jasper Philipsen that he’s a dangerous sprinter.

In winning stage 13 of the Tour de France in Pau, the Alpecin-Deceuninck man took his second triumph in this year’s race, and an eighth career victory here. But not everyone was happy. They never are with Philipsen. 

Pascal Ackermann, Israel-Premier Tech’s fast-man who finished third on the day, refused to shake Philipsen’s hand after the stage, and bemoaned that “I hope they [the race commissaires] take him back [relegate him] today because it’s too much.”

The disapproval related to how Philipsen swung out of Ackermann’s rear wheel in the final few hundred metres, darted to the left of the German and then swung back in front of him before powering to the win. “Philipsen took my front wheel when he was passing me, and when he turned right I nearly crashed,” Ackermann said. “He’s done it the same so many times now and he’s still doing it.”

The charge, that has been overshadowing Philipsen’s many wins for the past two years, goes that he fails to hold the same racing line, and as he manoeuvres across the road, he impedes his fellow competitors. But the 26-year-old is too vexed and tired to even engage in the topic. “No comment,” he snarled after his latest win. “I don’t like these questions.”

Jayco-AlUla’s sprinter Dylan Groenewegen didn’t contest the finale of stage 13, but the Australian team’s DS, Matt White, understood the criticism aimed at Philipsen. “There’s so much scrutiny on him because of his previous history,” he said. “If you look at his sprints in the past, he’s a sprinter who does what he needs to do to win. But what we’ve learned in this Tour de France is that the UCI is certainly serious about implementing certain rules.”

Of the seven stages that have ended in a bunch sprint in this year’s Tour, only two have resulted in sprinters being relegated for irregular sprinting: Philipsen, to his fury, on stage six, and Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa B&B Hotels) on stage 12. But there have been calls for more demotions: Visma-Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert has been boxed in on the right hand side of the barriers on several occasions, and, dare we say it, Cavendish’s historic win on stage five was a result of a rapid move across the width of the road.

Teams are flummoxed as to what is and isn’t allowed, and how far a rider can deviate from their set sprinting line. “There is no definition,” White said, adding that UCI commissaires rarely communicate their decisions with teams. “Look at the day Cav won: he went from one side of the road to another, a huge deviation, Philipsen followed him and almost took out [Fernando] Gaviria in the process, and because of the movement there was a squeeze on the left which caused [Mads] Pedersen to crash.

“Then the day after there was a bit of movement and nothing happened; then Wout got squeezed and nothing happened; and then the next time it was scrubbing time with Cav and Démare, but was that justified based on the other sprints? It’s very inconsistent.”

All Philipsen wanted to discuss was how he has belatedly started winning at the Tour. “I was just really happy with my feelings being really good,” he said. “I feel I am growing in confidence in the sprints and I’m happy I could do a really good sprint to take my second stage win.”

Yet beating Biniam Girmay for the points classification come the finale in Nice might be a tall order. The Intermarché-Wanty rider has a lead of 75 points over Philipsen, and with so few sprinting opportunities remaining, the Eritrean, a winner of three stages so far, will be confident of retaining the green jersey.

“It’s going to be really difficult, almost impossible,” Philipsen said, “because there’s only one sprint stage left. We try to focus on this stage 16 and we’ll see. It [the green jersey] was a goal at the start of the Tour, but I can be happy with a win today.” One more, and he can go home satisfied – even if his rivals will continue to snark about his sprinting style. “Three stage wins would be good,” he concluded.

It was difficult to detect any sign of disappointment in Jasper Philipsen as he arrived back at the Alpecin-Deceuninck team bus in the Colombey-les-Deux-Églises drizzle on Saturday afternoon, a stark contrast to the mood in Dijon after his relegation on Thursday. 

Yet again, Philipsen finished in second place in another Tour de France stage, this time narrowly beaten by Biniam Girmay, but there were no histrionics this time, no fists slammed onto car bonnets or objects thrown inside the bus. 

Instead, just a few words were exchanged with the waiting wives and girlfriends of the riders, an over-excited puppy was given some attention and then the Belgian fastman climbed inside the bus for the sanctuary of a hot shower and a brief few minutes peace to gather his thoughts before facing the throng of waiting journalists and television crews gathering outside. 

Did he make any mistakes on the uphill finishing drag at the base of the hill below the Mémorial Charles-de-Gaulle? "Not that I know of," Philipsen said.

"I think in the end it was a pretty tough finish and I didn't feel great today so I was a bit surprised I was still second. But I think it's a finish that Girmay also suits very well though so he deserved to win.

"I think we just need to get it right and we need to have smaller adjustments and then the win will come also."

"I think it will turn around," he added regarding his team’s fortune. "If we can be second, we can win as well. And once we have a bit better luck then we're on the move."

Philipsen won four stages at the Tour 18 months ago on the way to winning the green jersey in Paris. This time out he has managed three second places so far, with one of them not standing after he was judged to have blocked off Wout van Aert during the sprint in Dijon won by Dylan Groenewegen. 

"I didn't have the best legs today," Philipsen explained. "It was a tough day. I think we had a deserved winner and we have to look at the next opportunities.

"I think the numbers are good.  We just need a little bit more luck and some momentum and then the result will come."

Alpecin-Deceuninck head sports director Christoph Roodhooft echoed Philipsen’s stance on the result, suggested that he was beaten by the better man in Girmay and hinted that the team had also held back slightly with the key gravel stage to come around Troyes on Sunday. 

"Frustrating is not the correct word," Roodhooft said. "He was beaten by [Biniam] Girmay… when you see the peloton in the end, a lot of good riders dropped out of nowhere. So it was a really hard, tough day and Jasper launched his sprint at I think a good moment and he's beaten by Girmay."

Philipsen’s Alpecin teammate, Mathieu van der Poel is, on paper, a rider that normally would be expected to flourish on the gravel stage. The current road world champion has had a relatively uneventful opening week to the race, but Roodhoft suggested he had held his prize asset back with the gravel in mind after he hadn’t been involved in Philipsen’s leadout. 

He said: "Tomorrow is another day also for Mathieu and that's why we wanted to keep him a bit where he wanted to be and he did not even do the leadout because he was not feeling really strong," Roodhooft said

"After the race, it's always easy to say how you should have done it in the end of course, but I think this team was strong enough today without Mathieu."

Jasper Philipsen had just been beaten again at the Tour de France when he let his emotions get the better of him, slapping the bonnet of a race organiser’s car. When he returned to his Alpecin-Deceuninck bus, moments after a photofinish confirmed Dylan Groenewegen had edged him out in Dijon, he let out a loud obscenity that was visible to those waiting outside. Something plastic was then heard bouncing across the floor.

There have been three sprint stages in the first six days of the 2024 Tour de France, and Philipsen is yet to win one. Up to five sprint stages remain – possibly six if you add in stage nine’s gravel day – but already the Belgian is failing to retain the title as the race’s sprint king that he has held in the past two editions.

As he sat pondering another loss, worse was then to come for the 26-year-old. Thirty minutes after Groenewegen was celebrating his sixth Tour stage victory – the same number Philipsen also has – the UCI called Alpecin-Deceuninck’s boss Christoph Roodhooft with some bad news: Philipsen had been relegated. The jury's report wrote that he “deviat[ed] from the chosen line by impeding or endangering another rider and [having an] irregular sprint.” Accusations of dangerous sprinting are often levelled at Philipsen, and this time the race jury agreed. 

Any hope he’d be speaking to the press was duly extinguished; Philipsen, a self-described bad loser who once told this publication that when he lost a game of football as a child “I would be crying on the pitch”, was now raging. Likewise, Roodhooft, was prickly and tense. “Disappointed,” the team’s sporting manager summarised his sprinter's emotions in one word. 

Philipsen hasn’t been far off – put aside the disqualification to 107th, he has finished second two stages in a row – but second and third are quickly becoming his default positions; nine times this season he has occupied the lesser spots on the podium, in contrast to four victories, only two of which have been at stage races. He’s no longer feared by his adversaries. 

“Why is pressure needed?” Roodhoft asked rhetorically, vexed by a journalist’s question. “He’s been two times second, so for me it’s all going OK until now. Winning a stage is not easy. From two chances he didn’t go too bad. He did not win, but he’s not alone in trying to win a sprint stage. Our first goal was of course to have a stage victory. He did a good intermediate [sprint, winning ahead of Biniam Girmay], and he was second here, but he didn’t win.”

Roodhooft was attempting to paint an optimistic picture, but he couldn’t resist expressing his anger over Philipsen’s relegation and the consequence it has in the points classification for which his fastman now sits fourth on 85 points, 64 fewer than Girmay.  “For the green [jersey] we came on schedule, but now it’s no longer in our hands,” he said. “It has to fall apart everywhere now. It’s not up to him anymore.”

An edginess was palpable when Roodhooft spoke, but Philipsen’s teammates were less pessimistic. Mathieu van der Poel, the world champion, said that Alpecin produced “the perfect leadout”. On a personal level, he “felt good – I finally had punch in the legs.” The day before, when Mark Cavendish scored his historic 35th stage victory, Van der Poel said he “lacked a bit of punch in the end… and lost some momentum. But today my legs felt way better and the team did its job again.”

The next chance Philipsen’s team will get the opportunity to amass at the head of the peloton in preparation for a sprint will be Saturday’s stage eight, and there was no panic from Søren Kragh Andersen regarding the plan. 

“The first goal of sprint teams is that the sprinter is sprinting,” the Dane said. “I think we did a good job and if he’s second, close to the win, we put him [in a position to be] able to sprint. It’s a work in progress.”

After the first rest day, four more sprint chances at most remain, and if Philipsen still hasn’t chalked a win on the scoreboard, the pressure and tension will start mounting. “We’re still hungry,” Andersen said. “There are a lot of chances this year for sprinters.” 

This interview originally appeared in the 4 January issue of Cycling Weekly magazine. 

It seemed fitting that Jasper Philipsen eventually swapped his blue team issue kit for the green jersey of the Tour de France last summer once his hulk-like sprinting left him with the unofficial title of the fastest man in the world.

A trend rapidly developed in the opening week of the Tour and showed no sign of relenting as the race continued. The peloton surged into the final kilometre of stage three in the streets of Bayonne, with Alpecin leading the charge, before Philipsen - complete with an angry grimace - burst from Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel to punch his way to his first win of the race. 

Questions were once asked as to whether Peter Sagan was in fact Bruce Banner in disguise, although Philipsen’s form in 2023 soon revealed the incredible hulk of cycling’s true identity. 

Philipsen chalked up 19 individual victories last season - including his results at the Tour - which further underlined his claim to the fastest man throne. The 25-year-old was simply a cut above the rest and says he is aiming to replicate his form this year with the Paris Olympics on the horizon. 

Speaking exclusively to Cycling Weekly, Philipsen says lining up at the Olympics isn’t the be all and end all, which is just as well because given Belgium’s star-studded road race squad, he might not even make the start-line.

“I hope to be there, of course,” he says. “It's still a really long time away but I hope to be able to get to Paris and compete.” 

“There are an awful lot of good riders available,” he adds. “I just need to keep delivering like I have done, deliver results and show that I'm one of the strongest on this type of terrain that they have for the road race in Paris. That’s all I can do.” 

The character of top sprinters is that they’re loud, brash and shouting from the rooftops about their own brilliance. However, five minutes with the unassuming Philipsen reveals that he is the complete opposite - he regularly plays down his own success and steers away from superlatives. 

But when Paris-Roubaix comes up, Philipsen smiles and begins to talk himself up for the first time. His second place in the hallowed concrete velodrome, behind team-mate Mathieu van der Poel was notable because he beat far more seasoned Classics riders to a place on the podium. Cycling Weekly asks him if he can go one step further this year, “why not?” is the answer he gives in response. 

“We will have to see,” Philipsen says. “I know we will make some plans as a group in January but I think with how I've evolved as a rider it would be a good decision to look at the Classics. 

“Of course, the Tour de France again is a big goal, but hopefully I can fit some big Classics in as well, because I just love racing in them, it's a real passion of mine.”

Dreaming of Roubaix

“I think at the moment for me, a race like Flanders is too hard because it's too hilly but maybe in a few years I think I can compete there,” he adds. “I think the Classic that I'm most likely to win is probably Roubaix. I already showed that the race suits me… For sure, it's not impossible for me to go back and win there.”

Philipsen grew up in Mol, in Belgium’s east Flanders, the same province of Antwerp from which Tom Boonen emerged. 

Similarly to Boonen, and every other professional cyclist from the area, bike racing was thrust upon Philipsen from an early age. “It's just part of the culture, you grow up with it,” says Philipsen. “You watch it on TV all the time when you're young, so you want to be the same as the guys you see. 

“I actually did soccer first, but then switched to cycling, and I enjoyed it a lot more. I've just always liked physical sports. I always had more physical talent than technical talent. In soccer you need a bit more technical skill but I was just better at the physical stuff.” 

Philipsen’s prowess with the physical side of his sport eventually carried him to Axel Merckx’s renowned development team Hagens Berman Axeon. 

A year later UAE Team Emirates came calling, where he suited up alongside a future Tour de France winner. 

“I think they're now a bigger deal than they were back then,” Philipsen says of his former team. “Of course, being in a major WorldTour team also brings pressure as a young guy. I had no patience to wait to be the best cyclist that I could be, I was always impatient for that. I wanted to be where I am now already from the start, but it's not that easy. So I think the pressure was what I put on myself back then. 

“There was stress and impatience from myself to become the cyclist that I wanted to be.”

“So that was the biggest reason why I left UAE,” he adds. “They were clearly going to be a GC team with [Tadej] Pogačar. Tadej developed and had a bigger growth and improvement than me at the start.

“He was immediately there, racing at the highest level. I was there at a good level but not the highest. With my personal ambition, it was better to move onto Alpecin-Deceuninck.

“They focus more on the sprint's and Classics, and that's something I've always suited. Of course, there's Mathieu van der Poel on the team too, but the team cannot rely on one guy. I'm happy to be on a team with him, I think we compliment each other well.”

Life at Alpecin-Deceuninck

Philipsen soon reaped the rewards of making the jump. In 2021, at Alpecin, the Belgian won nine including two stages of the Vuelta a Espana. From there he has made steady progress each year, winning two stages at the Tour de France in 2022 before returning to dominate sprints and win four in 2023, on his way to the Tour’s green jersey and 19 race wins across the year.

Reflecting on his year of supremacy within the frenetic world of sprinting, Philipsen tells Cycling Weekly that paying attention to the psychological side of performance was what kept him at the top. 

“I think it's clear and we can say that it was my best year yet,” he says. “Staying mentally fresh was the key I think. At the start of the year we said that it was important that I maintained enjoyment with what I did throughout the year, and had fun during the season. Of course, you have highs and lows but that's inevitable. 

“It was also avoiding doing things in races and training that burn you out completely so that you can't keep that consistency and collapse after two or three races. That was something we tried to avoid and helped me to stay mentally fresh.”

That showed in the spring when, as well as achieving second place at Roubaix, Philipsen took two stage wins at Tirreno-Adriatico and won Scheldeprijs for a second time which proved the form was there as the Tour drew near. 

“I think already because of the way I started the season I could go into it with a lot of confidence,” he says. “Myself and Mathieu had a good, strong team around us so we could have some fun on the sprint stages and make ourselves hard to beat with the lead out that I had. 

“I think that's something that we will inevitably try to work on even more and take back next year so that we can deliver as a team again.” 

Tour de France domination

Looking back on the Tour, the 25-year-old highlights one stage win in particular as being symbolic and says it defined his rapidly growing identity as a racer. 

“I think my fourth stage was the nicest to win, the last one,” he says. “That's because there was a lot of pressure and commentary from outside of the team. A lot of people were saying he can't do it without Mathieu [van der Poel] or he can't stay on his own line or whatever. 

“I think that win erased that completely. I proved and showed everybody talking that it was wrong, and without Mathieu it was possible to win and it was also possible to win without being accused of doing an irregular sprint. 

“I always knew it was possible to do these things and that I had the power and strength to do it. And also to do it in a fair way of course. So that was fun.”

Nevertheless, despite Philipsen’s dominance on the flatter stages, a second stage win on the Champs-Élysées in Paris slipped through his fingers as Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) bested him to become a surprise winner. Philipsen admits that missing out on another win on the final day in the French capital hurt but explains that the intense three weeks of racing had started to take its toll. 

“It helped that I had won there before,” he says. “Maybe looking back at the last day in Paris, I was not physically so fresh anymore and could not hit my best effort in that finale.”

“At the end of the Tour I was mentally, or physically, not at my top level anymore,” he explains. “Always being there, fighting for the green jersey is harder than people think. Even if I had a good advantage, you're still always being kept busy with the jersey, and you're still thinking about it every day.” 

He adds: “I also thought that two weeks after, I had the World Championships in Scotland and wanted to save some of my best legs for then.”

With the green jersey in the bag, Philipsen’s hot streak continued post-Tour and his season ended with four stage wins at the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey. 

When we label him the ‘fastest man in the world’ heading into 2024 he demures. “This year is a new year again and there's also new, younger guys coming through. Also the older, more experienced ones that have been up there over the years are also still there at the top level and trying to win as much as possible. 

“I know we have a good team and we have a good mindset to try to repeat this as a group. But of course, this sport doesn't give you any guarantees. 

“So it's nice being the man to beat, but in 2024 but if you don't deliver any more then there is somebody else. So you try to stay on top, but it's the hardest thing to do.”

Jasper Philipsen said he wants to end his season in style at this week’s Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey after winning stage one at a canter in Antalya.

On the fast and chaotic opening stage, Philipsen was able to call upon a full lead out from his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates as the peloton tore onto the long straight road along the beachfront.

The Belgian rider is one of the headline names at the race and managed to hold off Astana Qazaqstan's Gleb Syritsa who took second.

Philipsen’s fellow countryman Timothy Dupont of Tartelleto-Isorex finished third.  

Philipsen told Cycling Weekly that he wanted to end his season on a high note and hoped to punch the air once more and celebrate another victory later on in the eight-day stage race.

“The team did a really good job," he said. "It was really hectic because it was an easier, short day but I think the team had a really good experience out there with Ramon [Sinkeldam] guiding Simon [Dehairs] through at the front.

"I think we were able to stay calm, find the right moment and do a good group lead out for me, so I'm happy to finish it off.”

Philipsen has enjoyed a sparkling 2023 campaign and has maintained strong form throughout the year. The 25-year-old won Scheldeprijs in April before going on to win four stages at the Tour de France in July.

He also wore the green jersey in Paris after winning the race's points classification.

As well as his success at the Tour, the Alpecin-Deceuninck fast-man also took second place at Paris-Roubaix behind Mathieu van der Poel in an impressive one two for the Belgian team.

“It's been a great year, a really great year,” Philipsen added as he reflected on his season. "I want to try to end it in a good way. So seven days to go now, it was definitely one of the easier days today.

"The next few days will be hard, I think, but I hope to win again another time later in the race this week.”

Meanwhile Mark Cavendish was back in action for Astana after his recent announcement that he will postpone his retirement for another year.

His team announced last week that the Manxman will ride on in 2024 and attempt to win a record breaking 35th stage at the Tour de France. Cavendish is currently the joint record holder for the most stage wins with Eddy Merckx. 

The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey continues on Monday with a hilly 166 kilometre test from Kemer to Kalkan. 

The stage was set in Bordeaux. 13 years had passed since the city welcomed a Tour de France stage, when Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory at the 2010 edition. One question hummed in the air. Could he do it again, break the all-time record? Had it not been for Jasper Philipsen’s turn of pace, he might well have done. 

Under the baking French sun, the Belgian took his third win from as many bunch sprints at this year’s Tour. Cavendish settled for second. 

There was a certain irony in it, really, Philipsen revealed afterwards. The morning of the race, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider had studied videos of Cavendish’s sprint in 2010. The knowledge he acquired, he used to beat him. 

“[The video] looks like ages ago,” Philipsen told the press. “It’s just crazy that he’s still racing and fighting for victories. It’s amazing how he can continue in this moment, on the highest level, fighting for his 35th stage win in the Tour. Hats off to him.”

For some, the record-breaking victory looked sealed outside Bordeaux's Palais de la Bourse. A dash down the right side of the road caught the rest of the sprint field by surprise, and a gap opened to Cavendish. 

“I saw him go past me and I said, ‘Oh my god, he’s not going to take his 35th victory, is he?’,” Philipsen said. In the end, he wasn't. Instinctively, the Belgian kicked down on his pedals, the gap closed, and suddenly he found himself in front. 

He took a glance to his right, a glance to his left, and threw his first in the air, marking another victory, and leaving Cavendish waiting for his. 

"We don’t give any presents,” the Belgian said, before turning to compliment his opponent. “It’s insane that he was up there, and really hats off to him. It’s a pleasure to fight against him for victory.”

Philipsen's win will stand as a show of clinical professionalism. After waiting 15 stages for a breakthrough victory last year, he has now won three by stage seven. Could Jasper the Disaster become Jasper the Master and set his own records at the race? "That's still too far out," he replied, and besides, history-making is Cavendish's domain. 

"He's the best sprinter of all time," Philipsen said, stamping it as a matter of fact.

Mark Cavendish said he was ‘devastated’ as a record breaking 35th Tour de France stage win slipped through his fingers in Bordeaux on Friday afternoon. 

The Astana-Qazaqstan rider recorded his best result yet at this year’s Tour - second behind Jasper Philipsen - but was left bitterly disappointed after the Belgian powered past him within metres of the line.

Cavendish bettered his performances in Bayonne and Nogaro, but it was still not enough to beat a flying Philipsen.

Speaking to the media outside the Astana team bus in Bordeaux, Cavendish explained that he was “frustrated” as he had suffered mechanical issues with his bike in the closing metres which affected his sprint as he jumped for the line.

“The boys did good, they were incredible,” he said. “I jumped when I wanted to but unfortunately I had a problem with my gears when I was sprinting. I went from the 11 to the 12, and then back to the 11.

“I'm pretty devastated actually. The boys did good, I got a good jump, but in those situations it's just not meant to be. By 30, 40m to go, I already had to sit down and stand up again, and my gears were jumping. It's not belief then, it's hope. It is what it is, we try again.”

Cavendish piled praise on his Astana teammates for their perfectly timed leadout, saving special mention for Cees Bol’s contribution which very nearly brought the victory.

“Cees was amazing,” Cavendish added. “He's like an assassin. He does what he needs to do, smoothly. Cees is pretty amazing. He was there, moving me up, he knows that he has to work earlier than the actual leadout to get me into position, and he'll do that. He did perfectly to get me on the right wheels going into the last km. It was just a case of timing when I jumped.”

When asked if he has the speed to eventually get the better of Philipsen in this edition of the Tour, the Astana man explained he was full of belief in his own capabilities. Cavendish also explained that a few teams may have been unhappy with the Belgian’s sprint as the peloton surged into Bordeaux; Philipsen was upheld as the winner.

“I think so [has the speed to beat Philipsen]. I'd imagine, there might be a couple of teams protesting against Philipsen anyway today,” Cavendish said. “He didn't impede me at all, so it's not for me to discuss.

“I was in quite a good position, I was far back, but I was ok and where I wanted to be. It was a long straight finish. Cees [Bol] moved me up with good speed into the last kilometre. I was on the right wheels.”

As he analysed the closing metres of the race, the Manxman explained that he timed his final kick for the line to a similar point as to where he made a similar jump when he last won in Bordeaux in the Tour, back in 2010.

“I kicked a little earlier than I liked, but it was about the same time that I did in 2010,” he explained. “Once I kicked, my gears jumped and the cadence was whacked up. There's nothing you could do except try and hope.

“I'm bitterly disappointed there, like really majorly disappointed but we keep on trying.”

Cavendish will get another chance in Moulins on stage 11, with the Manxman unlikely to feature on a lumpy stage eight on Friday to Limoges. History still waits.

Well, we have a race on our hands. In case you've not been paying attention, the last two days in the Pyrenees were a real slug-fest between the GC heavyweights (who actually don't weigh that much).

Today, however, none of that matters. The stage today should be a sprinters affair and the big question is can anyone beat Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and he all conquering lead-out, central to which is Mathieu van der Poel.

Caleb Ewan has looked like the closest to the Belgian so far. Can the Australian go one step further? Can Mark Cavendish get that historic 35th stage win?

Lets find out.

Today's route

There is one category four climb on the parcours today but its not enough to give the sprinters any real trouble coming 40km from the finish.

This should be a fairly straight-forward affair for their teams, though some have been depleted by injuries and retirements.

Sep Vanmarcke retires immediately

Away from the Tour de France Israel-Premier Tech has announced that veteran classics rider Sep Vanmercke has retired with immediate effect due to heart issues.

The Belgian, who won Omloop het Nieuwsblad in his career and was second at Paris-Roubaix, noticed an abnormally high heart rate on a ride recently.

The team added: "Vanmarcke underwent testing including a cardiac MRI which confirmed the presence of scar tissue. The high risk of further cardiac complications posed by the scar tissue means that Vanmarcke will no longer be able to continue racing as a professional cyclist."

Vanmarcke said: “When I pinned a number for the first time back in 2003, I never dared to dream about having a professional career. I ended up living that dream for 14 years, with highs and lows."

He said he "wasn’t the super talent" but that "dedication and hard work" had kept him at the top of the sport. 

He continued: “It is very sad and painful to announce the end of my career in this way. At the same time, I am grateful that the problems with my heart were discovered in time. I’m going to take the time now to be with my family, to accept the situation and think about what I want to do in the future. My whole life has been all about cycling. Cycling will always be my passion.”

With 57 appearances as a stage finish and 33 as a stage start town, Bordeaux is one of the most visited cities on the race. 

That said, it hasn't featured on the Tour de France since 2010 when – guess who? – Mark Cavendish won the sprint finish there when he rode for Team HTC-Columbia.

With another sprint finish on the cards, that fact surely won't be lost on the Manxman, who is hoping to register a record 35th stage victory in what will be his final Tour de France.

Mark Cavendish winning stage 18 of the 2010 Tour de France from Salies-de-Béarn to Bordeaux, ahead of Julian Dean and Alessandro Petacchi.

The KoM of today's single categorised climb, the Côte de Beguey, is Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), who will be racing up it again today.

The Frenchman secured his KoM spot in 2021, again in the Tour de France, when the race went over it on stage 19.

The climb's stats are 1.16km at 4.45%, which Laporte managed in an impressive 2.04.

169.9km to go: And the riders set out from Mont-de-Marsan on the départ fictif. The crowds are out, the weather looks amazing – the scene is set.

Today's stage heads roughly north from Mont-de-Marsan, skirting the Bassin Aquitain on its way up to Bordeaux, all in the south-west of the country.

Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R-Citroën) perfectly demonstrates the warmth of the day – around 30deg C – with an ice pack on the back of his neck.

169.9km to go: And the stage is go! Riders attacking immediately.

168km to go: Three riders out front, looking rather reluctant. No one behind looking at all keen to join them.

165km to go: Arkéa's Simon Gugliemi has been left on his own out front now as his fellow breakaways head back to the bunch. But Frenchman Gugliemi has put his head down. Looks fairly committed. This could be a long time trial for him.

162km to go: One of the breakaways who had thrown in the towel – Mathieu Burgaudeau of TotalEnergies – explains that, apparently, his DS wasn't happy with the composition of the break and sent him back to the bunch.

Meanwhile Gugliemi has quickly built a 2.21 gap over a languid bunch.

159km to go: Mathieu Van Der Poel and Tadej Pogačar having a friendly chat just off the back of the bunch. Planning world cycling domination, perhaps?

157km to go: Matthias Skjelmose and Alex Kirsch of Lidl-Trek showing off their national champions' jerseys (Denmark and Luxembourg respectively) at the front of the bunch. Now where's Quinn Simmons?

Bora-Hansgrohe directeur Enrico Gasparotto explains the team strategy with Jai Hindley, having already won – and lost – the yellow jersey.

"We set a realistic goal that could be the final podium in Paris. We have to be honest as Jonas [Vingegaard] and Tadej [Pogačar] are looking really strong and superior.

"The fact that we are only 1.34 from the yellow jersey we take as an advantage – I think everything is going quite well for us. The goal is to stay there.

"[Tadej and Jonas] proved that they are superior but in cycling you never know what is going to happen in the two weeks that are still ahead of us."

152km to go: Simon Gugliemi's gap is growing inexorably – it's now out to 5.30.

So who is Gugliemi? He's 26, turned pro with Groupama-FDJ in 2020 after riding for a year with its development squad.

A win today would be by far the biggest ride of his career as he is, in fact, still waiting for a first pro victory. Of course, the sprinters and their teams are likely to veto any such hopes.

Some of his best results so far include eighth on GC in the Baby Giro in 2019, and seventh on a stage of the Vuelta a España last year.

150km to go: 6.23 now for Gugliemi. It's going out by a second per second right now.

David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ's GC hope) is really looking forward to the Puy de Dôme on Sunday, he says. 

"We could see some really big gaps."

Anything can happen when riders are tired, he points out.

The Frenchman currently lies seventh at 4.03.

145 to go: Looks like Lotto-Dstny has decided Gugliemi has enough rope at 7.06 and has come to the front to start controlling the gap.

It has sprinter Caleb Ewan, who will be hoping to win today for the first time since 2020 in Poitiers on stage 11.

135km to go: The gap is back down to 4.53 now and continues to fall. Lotto-Dstny's riding is clearly working at the front of the bunch.

The Jumbo-Visma riders all know their individual sweat losses, explains team head of nutrition Martijn Redegeld. On today's hot outing they're going to be particularly focused on taking on fluids, plus cooling with ice and ice lollies, apparently. Calippo, anyone?*

*Other brands are available.

132km to go: Lotto-Dstny continues to ride on the front, with Gugliemi's gap dropping to 4.12 now.

Jumbo-Visma DS Grischa Niermann offers his reflections on the battle between his rider Jonas Vingegaard, and Tadej Pogačar:

"I'm not surprised [how good he was on stage six]. But we he hoped to drop him on the Tourmalet and that didn't work out.

"We had payback for the day before and chapeau to him, he did a great race, but also I think we put on a great show and also Jonas [Vingegaard] was very, very good. But Tadej was on a much better level than the day before.

"But I think it will be a big fight between these two guys, and once again they showed they were on another level to the rest."

111km to go: The peloton has lowered the gap to Gugliemi to 3.35 now. Yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard looks relaxed in the bunch, chatting to Jumbo-Visma team-mate Nathan Hooydonck.

99km to go: UAE Team Emirates and Astana Qazaqstan taking on feeling musettes as they go through km70. Lotto-Dstny still plugging away at the front, with the gap to Gugliemi now below three minutes at 2.55.

The three kilometre rule has been extended to 3.6km today, to take account of all the technical aspects as the riders approach the finish. There are a multitude of bends, some of them very tight, and organisers don't want a repeat of the crash strewn finish at Nogaro on stage four.

The three kilometre rule, by the way, means a rider who crashes inside this last stretch will still be awarded the same time as the group they were in at the 3km mark.

83km to go: The day's single intermediate sprint is on the horizon. Gugliemi goes through first of course (he still has 1.58), but things are livening up back in the bunch.

It's an arrow straight road through the trees of south-west France. The bunch can likely see Gugliemi even though he must be around a kilometre ahead.

Mads Pedersen goes, then Jasper Philipsen and now Biniam Girmay... Girmay claims the second place in the sprint behind Gugliemi.

The full result:

Grignols Sprint:
1. Simon Gugliemi (Arkéa-Samsic) 20 pts
2. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) 17 pts
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 15 pts

It sees Philipsen extend his lead in the points competition with 165 pts over Bryan Coquard (Cofidis, 117 pts), with Wout Van Aert third (95 pts)

All that sprinting action in the bunch cut Gugliemi's gap in half to something eminently bridgeable. It's now 58sec, with Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroën) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) jumping out of the bunch in an attempt to bridge it.

71km to go: Peters, Latour and Gugliemi are all together now, but the peloton is chasing hard with the gap down to just 33sec.

They won't want to make the catch yet though – if they did, it would only prompt more attacks, causing a serious headache for the very sprinters' teams who are currently controlling that gap.

58km to go: The bunch has happily allowed the gap to the break to reach 1.15. That said, there are riders from Soudal-Quick Step (for Fabio Jakobsen), Lotto-Dstny (for Caleb Ewan) and Jayco-AlUla (for Dylan Groenewegen) patrolling the front of the peloton, ready to bring the break back just as soon as they decided they need to.

Or at least try – the trio up front are riding very purposefully.

Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) talks about his role as a leadout man for Jasper Philipsen. "It makes things interesting for me".

"I try to do my best. For sure it's nice to work for someone like Jasper as well, who is one of the fastest of the bunch. We have a go with the green jersey and I'm happy to help with it.

Trust is key, he says: "He follows me without doubt, and he trusts me know we've done it a couple of times. It makes it easier for me as well, though I'm also taking risks. If it was for nothing I would maybe not do it every time, but if you get a nice bonus it's nice.

"The sprint stages [I'm] without a goal to be honest, so it makes it interesting for me as well."

Philipsen has won twice now, with Van Der Poel's help – once in Bayonne on stage three and once in Nogaro on stage four. Is he the favourite for today? The short answer is yes.

56km to go: Flat tyre for Mark Cavendish, who is being paced back to the bunch by two team-mates. And, speak of the devil, Mathieu Van Der Poel also had a bike change. 

44km to go: Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Poel having what looks like the friendliest of chats back in the bunch. That said, the time to the break has now come down to 45sec, so no one's hanging about.

MARK CAVENDISH LOOKS TO BORDEAUX: 'I'M A BIT NERVOUS ACTUALLY'

"I'm a bit nervous actually. It's another opportunity, but it's been nice to me, Bordeaux, before. I won in 2010, so we'll try and do the same today.

"It'll be a different dynamic to then. There weren't many leadout teams back in them days. It'll be a little bit more chaotic today I think. But it's a nice boulevard sprint just as I like it. We'll see what happens."

The strategy, he explained, was just about getting the right position: "It's just about staying up there, to put it simply. The problem is everyone else wants to stay up there.

He had good legs, he said: "I got through the Pyrenees quite alright. The boys looked after me really well."

27km to go: The kilometres are rattling past, with the French trio still out front and the gap back up to 1.14. Another 10km or so and it will be coming down rapidly, I'd predict.

24km to go: In fact, Gugliemi is done for the day. He's back in the peloton. All that time out front clearly caught up with him. Peters and Latour still out there though, the gap being 1.07.

15km to go: Things getting a lot more urban now as the race approaches Bordeaux along the Garonne river. The gap is tumbling too – it's 37sec to the pair out front now. The bunch will want them caught before things get technical in the final few kilometres.

10km to go: The pair of escapees are clearly in no mood to capitulate, their body language betraying the obvious effort they are putting in to staying away. Behind, the peloton remains at 31sec, but 10km is a long way to go in this situation.

9km to go: Gap down to 19sec now. The roundabouts have started.

8km to go: Jumbo-Visma right up the front, with Jonas Vingegaard third wheel in that particular line. Right on the yellow jersey's wheel is, of course, Tadej Pogačar. They're leaving nothing to chance.

7km to go: Another roundabout, it strings the bunch right out.

The break is in clear sight now at 12sec.

6km to go: No sprint for Van Aert today, he's been dropped.

Peters sits up, leaving Latour to go it alone.

4km to go: Latour within about five seconds now. He's still giving it his all.

3km to go: Latour caught as the bunch takes a hard right-hander. They're inside that 3.6km safety zone now.

2.5km to go: Alpecin takes the front on the left side with Philipsen third wheel. 

1.2km to go: Groenewegen and Ewan coming up to the front into position, Girmay's there too. Where's Cavendish?

Massive leadout from MVDP!

Cavendish sprang out the pack, victory looking almost certain, but then Philipsen sweeps past to claim a third win in the final metres.

Jasper Philipsen wins.

Cavendish just faded in the last 20 metres, slowing down as Philipsen was accelerating. Second place for Cavendish, third for Biniam Girmay.

It wasn't Cavendish's day today, but this performance shows he is far from done with this Tour de France.

Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar over the line safely too.

And breathe!

Thanks for keeping us company here. What a finale.

Stage report on its way.

Marcel Kittel - a winner of 14 Tour de France stages - believes Mark Cavendish will grab what will be a record breaking 35th stage win at the Tour in the sprint stages still to come.

Cavendish was involved in the thick of the action at the sharp end of the race on both stages three and four. The Manxman missed out to Jasper Philipsen in Bayonne on stage three before Philipsen won again in Nogaro on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly in Dax prior to stage four, Kittel explained that he believes Cavendish will break the record in one of the remaining sprint opportunities..

“That's the million dollar question,” Kittel said. “I believe in him because what I saw yesterday [stage three] was a strong Cavendish. He was almost alone in the last kilometres and he still kept his position and ended up with a good result but it's always challenging. I mean, he has to surf on wheels and use his kick in the final and it's so hard.

“You need to invest a lot of energy. So I hope he has this kick still left when it's really necessary.”

Prior to the French Grand Tour getting underway, Astana acquired the services of the Manxman’s former teammate Mark Renshaw as a coach for the race.

Kittel told CW that he had not considered the possibility of similar work to Renshaw and that he was “very happy” being on the outside of the racing itself.

“No, I've never pushed for that,” he said. “I'm happy where I am now looking from the other side and celebrating them [former teammates] and cheering for them.”

As well as Cavendish and Astana, Kittel was equally impressed by Alpecin-Deceuninck’s strong showing in the finale of the stage three sprint in Bayonne .

He said. “It was not the fact that they were super strong, because that's what we knew before, not only Mathieu van der Poel but also Jonas Rickaert.

“But also, how they waited until the last kilometre is something that says a lot about their strategy, about their understanding of each other and trust in each other. That's something that you need and especially in a tour final, you need to be able to almost work without any communication together. And that's what we saw yesterday.

“So this is a huge advantage for Jasper Philipsen.”

Mathieu van der Poel was instrumental in delivering Philipsen to the line in the coastal town, something which Kittel described as “bonus points” for Alpecin Deceuninck in the race for sprint dominance.

Both of the finishing straights on stages three and four were very different from one another. In Bayonne the riders had to sprint up a slight incline - something which Cavendish said was not the kind of finish for him - before stage four concluded on a motor racing circuit in Nogaro. 

When asked how the sprinting  landscape had changed since his time as a rider, he said he feels there are now very few “pure sprinters” in the men’s peloton and as a result, it’s “harder” to win for those that are left.

“We still have some [pure sprinters], but the Tour's also adapting to its many talents, its new stars. And that's something that you can definitely see, how the amount of pure sprint stages decreased in the last years. This year we have four very clear sprint stages, and then stages like yesterday where it's kind of unsure what we will get in the end.

“And that's because we have great riders like Jasper Phillipsen, Wout van Aert  and those guys who can survive hills.

“So it is going to be a challenge for Dylan Groenewegen, for example or Fabio Jakobsen who still represents these pure sprinters.”

Not since the pomp days of Marcel Kittel, or going further back, a youthful Mark Cavendish, has a sprinter been as dominant at the Tour de France as Jasper Philipsen is at the moment. Not that you would know it from the Belgian's manner, which is unassuming, retiring even; he loathes to take credit himself for his performance, instead passing it onto his teammates.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has now won the last four pure bunch sprints at the Tour, as long as one is prepared to not count Christophe Laporte's surge to the line in Cahors last year, where Philipsen came second, but he is not getting carried away with the situation.

Asked if he was pleased to win two stages in a row - first to Bayonne, and now to Nogaro - the 25-year-old immediately passed the success onto those who guided him to the line.

"I think it’s really difficult [to win two in a row], and it probably will not happen often," Philipsen said. "I’m just really happy and proud that we have such a strong team and leadout, even in a f***ed up situation like today, actually.

"We were able to arrive at the front and sprint for victory, that’s only possible with a strong team behind you. It’s a privilege to have Mathieu [van der Poel] as a last man, I don’t think a lot of other guys can say that."

He is clearly not a student of Tour history, however. While two-in-a-row is an impressive feat, it is not a unique one. In fact, his good friend Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) achieved it last year, while Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) managed the same in 2021. It was the tenth time a sprinter has managed it this century. Still, one shouldn't burst Philipsen's bubble.

The "f***ed up situation" came from a messy final two kilometres on the motor racing circuit at Nogaro, with the Belgian losing his leadout train, there being crashes around him, and general chaos. One of the crashes was Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step), and Philipsen's leadout man Van der Poel was separately penalised for deviating from his line closer to the line.

"It was not super smooth, there was a bit of improvisation," Philipsen explained. "It was more hectic than I expected, and I also felt and heard some crashes around me, so first of all I really hope everyone is OK. 

"It was not a super smooth leadout like yesterday and we lost each other because it was so hectic. But on the final straight, I still found the wheel of Mathieu, and I didn’t know he still had this in the tank, he delivered me 150m to go. I didn't have a lot on the legs, so I was happy it was a short sprint. Caleb [Ewan] came very close."

Philipsen almost seems to shy from saying that he won because of his own strength, or because he is the best sprinter at the race. At the moment, he definitely appears to be.

Asked why Alpecin-Deceuninck appear to be bossing it, he said: "I think my whole team is focussed around Mathieu and me. We have almost no climbers in our team, so we're really focussed on sprint stages and ones for Mathieu. That gives us for sure an advantage to those who have climbers or GC guys. 

"We will always be the team that signs on the first that will probably sign on the first as we have no GC guys. We are targeting stages, and it has worked out well so far."

A third sprint opportunity does come in the opening week, in Bordeaux, but this comes the other side of the first two mountain stages of the race. At this point, however, you would still bet on Philipsen to win again, especially as some of his rivals - Ewan, Dylan Groenewegen - have now lost leadout men.

"It’s a goal for sure, to go for the third victory, but I think we have to enjoy this first," Philipsen said. "There are two other stages we have to survive, as the Pyrenees are very early. We will see in three days how my legs feel after the Tourmalet and the other climbs. There are other sprints to come, and hopefully with the same outcome."

Perhaps a third sprint win, the fifth bunch victory in a row, would coax Philipsen out of his shell a little, to cause him to consider himself the best. Onto Friday.

Mark Cavendish said he would take heart from his performance in the first sprint opportunity on stage three of the Tour de France, where he came sixth.

After solid work from the Astana Qazaqstan lead-out train which put him in a good position coming into the finale, the Manxman finished behind a rampaging Jasper Philipsen who grabbed his first victory of this year’s edition.

Speaking to the media post-stage, Cavendish said he was “happy” with his personal performance and that of his team, despite missing out on the win.

“Yeah I'm happy with that,” he said. “Ok, obviously, we'd like to win, but I'm happy with how the boys rode, I'm happy with the speed. You see the team are up there with more dialled teams, the teams that do it day-in, day-out.

“We had a plan to get me at the front there, with 2km to go, into that u-turn, that's what the boys committed too, that's what they did perfect. So actually it was job complete there, it was just down to me trying to find the right wheels after that.”

Cavendish explained that prior to stage three, Astana had already decided that the final phase of the stage was not ideal for the Manxman and was more suited to his rivals, particularly riders with the physique of Jumbo-Visma’s Wout van Aert or other more puncheur-like sprinters.  

“I was OK. I'm happy with the speed, 500m to go, I wasn't even in the top-10, maybe 15th position. I'm happy with that… We said at the beginning that that's not the best kind of finish for me, it was more for someone like Jonathan Milan or Wout van Aert,” Cavendish added.

“I had to wait until it went up to get on top of the gear… I'm happy with that. I can take confidence for the next few days.”

Coming into the Tour, Astana acquired the services of Cavendish’s former teammate Mark Renshaw as a sprint consultant for the race. The Manxman explained that the team were already reaping the rewards of Renshaw’s precise work which enabled them to get a clearer picture of the stage finale.

“[Mark Renshaw's homework] helped a lot. Not just in the final bit, but in the last 20 kilometres, the climbs, little kicks, knowing just how long they were, how to stay up there. Where to move up before the roundabouts, it helped an awful lot,” Cavendish said.

“Yeah, I think he [Renshaw] nailed it, and the boys nailed it for me. Luis Leon [Sanchez] and Cees [Bol] were always with it. I was quite happy to sit with Alpecin, but I always had the guys moving me up, giving me space, so I had to spend as little energy as possible. Super, super happy with that.”

Stage four between Dax and Nogaro concludes on a motor racing circuit, a finish that the Astana man explained he was more than ready for.

“We'll try tomorrow. It's a different one, I've never finished on a motor racing circuit at the Tour. It's happened in other races, but it might be a bit different at the Tour. It's new for everyone. I'm quite looking forward to it, it'll be another flat day. I think the peloton will look forward to a flatter day tomorrow. Hopefully the wind is alright too.

“I'm confident in my form, I'm confident in the team, we look forward to the next sprint opportunities.”

Jasper Philipsen is one of the fastest sprinters on the circuit right now. Born in the cycling heartlands of Belgium, he’s often overshadowed by Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert in his home country, but his palmarès speaks for itself.

The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider has won stages at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, and rode to a stunning second place at Paris-Roubaix in 2023 and 2024, and won his first Monument, Milan-San Remo, in 2024 too.

The Belgian goes into most sprints as a favourite. Here are 21 things you probably didn’t know about Jasper Philipsen.

1. His first sport was football, which he played often as a child.

2. As a youngster, he had a strong winning mentality. "It was always the same when I was young and playing football. When a game didn’t go how I wanted it to be going, I would be crying on the pitch," he said.

3. He had a BMX accident when he was 12 years old. His subsequent injuries made it difficult to continue playing football, so he turned his focus to cycling.

4. He joined his first team, Balen BC, in 2010.

5. Philipsen was the first person in his family to race bikes. "It was a learning process for all of us," he told Cyclingnews. "They would come and watch me race as a kid."

6. He was born in the same town as former world champion Tom Boonen - Mol, Belgium - which has a population of fewer than 40,000 inhabitants.

7. Boonen, understandably, was Philipsen's hero growing up, and he used to wear a replica of the Quick-Step rider's world champion jersey as a child. During the final years of Boonen's career, Philipsen would accompany him on training rides back home.

8. Like many Belgian riders, Philipsen has tried his hand at cyclo-cross. When he was 16, he raced the Zilvermeercross in his birthplace of Mol, and finished 31st - fourth from last.

9. In 2015, he won his first national title, triumphing in the individual time trial at the Belgian Junior National Championships. He successfully defended his title the following year.

10. Philipsen suffered exhaustion in the junior individual time trial at the 2016 World Championships in Doha, and as a result, did not start the road race three days later.

11. He turned pro in 2018 with Hagens Berman Axeon, the development team run by Axel Merckx, son of cycling great Eddy.

12. The Belgian has his own fan club, which has been supporting him with banners at races since 2016. The club now counts over 100 members.

13. He was not able to celebrate his first WorldTour victory, which came at the Tour Down Under in 2019. Initially second in the bunch sprint, Philipsen was declared the victor after Caleb Ewan was relegated.

14. At the 2023 Tour de France, the sprinter mistakenly celebrated when he crossed the line second on stage four, not knowing that Wout van Aert had broken away. "It will make for funny images in the end," he said afterwards.

15. His Alpecin-Deceuninck team call him Jasper 'The Disaster' Philipsen, due to his clumsiness.

16. His favourite one-day race is Paris-Roubaix, where he finished runner-up in 2023, beating Van Aert in a sprint. He repeated his result in 2024, beating Mads Pedersen.

17. He likes hip hop music, and warms up to Spotify's RapCaviar playlist.

18. He has won stages at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but has never raced the Giro d'Italia.

19. Philipsen's girlfriend is 22 year-old Melanie Peetermans.

20. The race he has competed in the most is Scheldeprjs, the unofficial sprinter's World Championships, which he has won twice - in 2021 and 2023.

21. At the 2022 UAE Tour, the pace in the peloton was so calm that Philipsen stepped off his bike and jogged for a few meters through the desert.

Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter Jasper Philipsen took his second bunch sprint victory of the week at Tirreno-Adriatico, edging out Jayco-Alula’s Dylan Groenewegen on the final stage in Benedetto del Tronto, with Team DSM’s Alberto Dainese in third place. 

Race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely in the bunch to secure his second overall success in the Italian stage race, with the podium completed by UAE’s João Almeida and Ineos Grenadier Tao Geoghegan Hart.

The 154km stage divided into two halves, the opening one hilly and the second totally flat. The break formed from the start. Nans Peters (AG2R Citroën), Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa), Samuele Zoccarato (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Henri Vandenabeele (Team DSM), Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) and Arthur Kluckers (Tudor) pushed their advantage out to three-and-a-half minutes in the hills, but the peloton began to reel them in steadily during the five laps of the 15km finish circuit.

The capture was made half a dozen kilometres from home, and led to a frantic battle for position over the twisting and tight section into the line. Alpecin came out of this high-speed back and forth in the best position, Mathieu van der Poel at the front of the line, where he set a ferocious pace for Philipsen.

Soudal-QuickStep’s Davide Ballerini took over as the Dutchman pulled aside, only to find that he had Philipsen rather than his own sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, on his wheel. As Ballerini swung over, Philipsen took full advantage of the position he found himself in, crossing the line almost a bike length clear of Groenewegen as Dainese came from a long way back to take third.

“We just wanted to go as hard as possible to the finish. We were in a really good position as a team thanks to the confidence we got from the previous sprint. I think the team did a great job as a whole and Mathieu did really well to set me up at the end,” said Philipsen.

The defending champion at Tirreno, van der Poel has been quieter this week, putting all of his focus on next weekend’s Milan-Sanremo. “I’m really happy with the team. Two victories here is really nice. I’m starting to enjoy the lead-outs especially if the sprinter finishes it off. It’s also good for me to go hard in the final bearing in mind what’s coming,” he said.

“I’m already focused on Sanremo and I hope this will get me the shape I need for Sanremo. I’ve worked as well as I could this and I’m healthy. I just need a bit of luck to win the race next weekend.”

A surprise late entry for Tirreno, Roglič will now switch his focus to the Volta a Catalunya at the end of the month having taken three stage wins and the overall title in Italy. “It’s just nice to come back to racing this way. I really enjoyed the whole week. My team-mates were super strong. One week ago I was just expecting to suffer. It’s even better to win when it’s unexpected. It feels good ahead of the Giro d’Italia too,” said Roglič, who has made the Italian national tour his principal objective for this season.

Tirreno-Adriatico stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto > San Benedetto del Tronto, 154km

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 3-32.36
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Hol) Jayco-Alula
3. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
4. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
5. Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
6. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-PremierTech
7. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe  
8. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic
9. Luca Colnagi (Ita) Green Project-Bardiani
10. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar, all same time.

Final general classification 

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 28-38.57
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18 secs
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 23 secs
4. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-hansgrohe, at 34 secs
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 37 secs
6. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, at 41 secs
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain Victorious, at 56 secs
8. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost, at 57 secs
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-hansgrohe, at 1-10
10. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 1-11

Who doesn’t love a sprint finish? There’s really nothing quite like them. Filled to bursting point with adrenaline and drama, they’ve got it all. 

The build up and hysteria all starts as the peloton flies into the final kilometres, with teams assembling their lead out trains ready to launch their chosen fast man or woman for a bid at glory. If a breakaway is still ahead then that’s even better for tension. 

In 2022 we saw some brilliant victories from the fast men and women of the sport, and the occasional day when a stage set to be one for them was snatched from their grasp at the last second. Christophe Laporte in Cahors at the Tour de France anyone? 

Some sprinters can go it alone, and outmuscle their rivals single handedly in order to land the prize of a Grand Tour stage win, or a Milan-San Remo title, others wait in the wings, kept safe by their teammates before flying out of the traps like a possessed greyhound when the line is in sight. 

Or if you’re Laporte, you can simply pop up out of nowhere and spoil the party right at the last minute. 

Here are the top six sprinters in 2022 as chosen by us. 

JASPER PHILIPSEN

Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen very nearly took a hat trick of stage wins at the Tour this year. 

The Belgian was constantly in the mix in the opening sprint stages, but then unfortunately spent a few days as the brunt of all the jokes, as he mistakenly celebrated what he thought was a win on stage four, not realising that a rampant Wout van Aert had crossed the line from the breakaway before him. 

However, Philipsen was able to see the funny side and would eventually have the last laugh in France. The Belgian won stage 15 before taking a prestigious victory in the unofficial sprinters world championships on the Champs-Élysées on the final day of the Tour. 

Earlier on in the year he won two stages and the points competition at the UAE Tour. Philipsen will be one to watch in 2023 and will be right in the mix at some of the biggest races. 

ELISA BALSAMO

There was a week in March where Elisa Balsamo seemed unbeatable. In her world champion's rainbow jersey, the Trek-Segafredo rider won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, the Exterioo Classic Brugge-De Panne and then Gent-Wevelgem. A special trio, all Women's WorldTour races.

It didn't last, and Lorena Wiebes (more of whom later) appeared to have the beating of the Italian in tight bunch sprints, but Balsamo still won nine races, including her first two Giro d'Italia stages and one at the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta too. 

Also, she might have lost her rainbow stripes, but she did win the Italian National Championships, meaning she still won't be in a regulation Trek jersey. 

ARNAUD DEMARE

The Groupama-FDJ rider had a sensational year in 2022, capped with a second points jersey victory at the Giro d’Italia. 

On his way to doubling up in the Maglia Ciclamino, the jersey the best sprinter wears at the Giro, Arnaud Démare snagged a hat trick of stage wins on the road in Italy in May. It’s safe to say that with a second sprinters jersey, the Frenchman has been one of the best sprinters at the Giro of the past three years. In 2020, Démare also won the maglia ciclamino, taking four stage victories in the process. 

As well as his achievements at the Giro this year, the Frenchman also won Paris-Tours as well as the points jersey at the Tour de Pologne. 

10th placed finishes at Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem also added to a solid campaign and set of results for Démare. 

FABIO JAKOBSEN

Fabio Jakobsen has had quite the journey over the last three years. 

The Dutchman being back on his bike and racing in 2022 was already an achievement in itself. In 2020, Jakobsen suffered potentially life threatening injuries after a high speed crash at the Tour de Pologne and there were question marks over whether he would be able to return to racing again. 

Fortunately, he bounced back from his horrific injuries in 2021 to win the points jersey and three stages at the Vuelta a España, but this year, he arguably went one better. 

Jakobsen made the headlines before the Tour de France had even begun this year, as he was selected ahead of Mark Cavendish to lead the charge for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl at the French Grand Tour. But he certainly delivered. 

Jakobsen won stage two of the race in Denmark to cap an amazing eighteen months for the 26-year-old. On top of that, the Dutchman also became European road champion, outsprinting Arnaud Démare and Tim Merlier at the championships in Munich, Germany in August.

LORENA WIEBES

Dutch rider Wiebes continued her journey to the top which has seen her land a dream move from Team DSM to SD Worx for 2023. 

Wiebes took two stage wins at the inaugural Tour de France Femmes this year, and held both the yellow and green jerseys after victory on the opening day. 

Before heading to France, the Dutchwoman took a hat trick of stages as well as the points jersey at the Women’s Tour and won the RideLondon Classique. 

She would then go onto become European female road champion after victory in Munich and also took wins at Ronde van Drenthe and Scheldeprijs. 

MADS PEDERSEN

Former world champion Pedersen has allegedly promised to get the number 13 tattooed on his back if he wins stage 13 at the Giro next year. 

The Danish rider has set himself a bit of a precedent in 2022, winning stage 13 at both the Tour and Vuelta as well as two other stages at the Spanish Grand Tour. You wouldn’t bet against him going all out for that slightly strange goal at the Giro either. 

As well as his Grand Tour success this year, the Dane also landed top ten results at Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. Expect Pedersen to be right up there at the sharp end in San-Remo again next Spring to get the ball rolling on another successful campaign. 

On stage four of this year's Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen thought he had finally broken through on the biggest stage, outsprinting the bunch to cross the line first.

Sadly for the Belgian, however, Wout van Aert was up the road ahead, and had already won an impressive stage to Calais. The second place was just another to add to his long list of near misses at the Tour de France: in just three editions, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has finished in the top five without winning ten times.

Almost a fortnight later, at the other end of the country, Philipsen finally delivered the result that he has been threatening, winning ahead of Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) in Carcassonne.

The 24-year-old finished third on the same finish straight last year, something which he said helped him to victory on Sunday. The men who finished ahead of him, Mark Cavendish and Michael Mørkøv, were either not here (the former) or way behind the peloton (the latter).

"Knowing the finish line was pretty crucial," Philipsen said in his post-stage press conference. "But not being here with Mark Cavendish also played a role."

It must be helpful for one's confidence to know that the most successful sprinter in history is not a rival in this year's race, especially when he beat you four times last year.

There have not been a lot of opportunities for sprinters at this year's Tour, with Sunday's stage just the third that ended in a bunch sprint. It has been difficult to say at times why the fast men have bothered to even come to this edition.

"The parcours is not really in our advantage," the 24-year-old explained. "I think we had also a good opportunity in Calais, but then Wout decided differently. I think last Friday was also a good opportunity, but a strong group went up the road. Today everything felt in the right place.

"New chances will come, that must be the motivation. If there was no sprint left, it would be mentally tougher. You have to keep on fighting every day for chances like this. It’s not easy to look forward for such a long time. Today shows it’s worth it, and there are hopefully two opportunities next week."

Three stages ending in bunch sprints, and three different winners. The fight to be the fastest man in the peloton looks like it could be between this trio, Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), although the latter two were not in the mix on Sunday.

"I think it's a pretty big relief, also that we had to wait a long time in this Tour, through the Alps, without a lot of stages for the team," Philipsen said. "Everybody took all the stages we had. Friday we worked super hard with the team, but couldn’t make it to a sprint. It finally paid off, and everybody is dedicated to go for the win."

Alpecin have seemed to also suffer through the lack of form for their captain, leader, legend Mathieu van der Poel, and then the lack of him altogether, after he abandoned. This result will be succour to the Belgian team, which was forced to watch on as their rivals Quick-Step dominated the first two days in Denmark.

"I try to stay easy on the days where there is no chances for us," Philipsen explained. "It was pretty tough last week, because you have to ride as easy as possible for the chances that will appear, eventually. I’m just going to enjoy this first and then put our focus to the last week. The pressure is off, everybody, all the staff. 

"It has not been an easy Tour for us, but I think today really showed the strength of the squad."

Having finally got the result he desire, this could be a turning point for Philipsen, no longer the nearly man here.

"Surely it’s the biggest victory in my career yet," the Belgian concluded. "The Tour de France is the highest level race for a sprinter, so I’m super happy to win at the highest level possible. This day I will remember for a long time."

As Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) sailed across the line taking a sensational victory in stage four of the Tour de France, there was comedy to follow just behind him. 

Hot on the heels of Van Aert, the remnants of the peloton sprinted for what Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) thought was the stage victory. Beating the others to the line, Philipsen sat up, punched the air and celebrated, not realising that Van Aert had finished ahead of him. 

After crossing the line, Philipsen said: “I thought I had won but then I saw Van Aert in front and I never knew he was in front, so yeah. I felt good but at the moment I’m just a bit disappointed.” 

“On the climb I never saw him riding in front, it’s a disappointment for sure,” Philipsen added. 

After realising his error, Philipsen was able to see the comical side, admitting the images will be funny in the end. 

“Yeah for four or five seconds I honestly thought I won, it will make funny images in the end. I didn’t want this though so it’s a bit s**t also. I just didn’t know he [Van Aert] was in front. I also never heard on the radio so yeah that’s a shame and why I sprinted for the win.”

Last month, Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) was in Philipsen’s shoes after celebrating what he thought was a stage victory at the Tour de Suisse. Bettiol celebrated in similar circumstances after not realising that Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) had won the stage ahead of him. 

Bettiol later admitted that he hadn’t heard what was going on ahead of him on the radio but that Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) soon told him that he had lost. 

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be embarrassed tonight, but at least the Belgian can see the funny side.   

Mathieu Van der Poel will not target the green jersey at the Tour de France in July with his Alpecin-Fenix team backing Jasper Philipsen in the bunch sprints, according to reports.

The Dutch road and cyclo-cross ace will instead target stage wins. 

Het Laatste Nieuws reports that Philipsen, who will arrive at the Tour fresh from a training camp at La Plagne, France, will be the team's main rider to challenge for sprint stage wins. Despite tasting success in the Tour de France last year, Tim Merlier will reportedly sit out the race.

Philipsen told the paper: “Last year I finished second three times and third three times in the Tour. This year I definitely want to win. I have worked hard to be top during this period." 

Although the 24 year-old admitted that going up against Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) would be a huge challenge, “I’m not green yet, let me try to win a stage first. By the way, if someone like Wout Van Aert is aiming for green, it will be very difficult for me to do the same."

Van der Poel might seem a more natural challenger to green jersey favourite Van Aert, but the report said after a tough Giro d’Italia his team do not plan on piling the pressure onto the Dutchman. Van der Poel is currently on an altitude training camp in Livigno, Italy.

After a strong display at the Tour de Suisse this week, Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) appears to be coming back into form ahead of the Tour de France.

Sagan’s win on stage three in Switzerland saw him outmanoeuvre his challengers before sprinting for victory. In taking his first WorldTour win in over a year, the former world champion displayed the same attributes that won him  the points jersey at the Tour on seven occasions. It may raise hopes among the Slovak's many fans that he can contend for that prize again.

However, Sagan was quick to downplay his 18th Tour de Suisse stage win: "It’s just a stage win. I’m happy for that and happy for the team. They all did a great job pulling with another team all day. In the end I just made it," he said.

Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Fenix comprehensively out-sprinted the rest of the field to claim stage five of the UAE Tour, his second of the week-long race.

The Belgian followed Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) after the Irishman launched earlier, and comfortably rounded him in the final 100m. Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) pipped Bennett to the line to finish second and achieve his joint highest result at WorldTour level.

Philipsen strengthened his grip on the points jersey with the victory, and had time to sit up and celebrate as he crossed the line. It is his eight WorldTour victory.

Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), the winner of stage two's sprint finish, did not contest the final, possibly showing the after effects of his crash on Wednesday's stage.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) survived a scare after a late puncture to finish with the bunch and hold onto the leader's jersey.

How it happened

The third sprint stage of this UAE Tour was largely a relaxed affair, similar to the first two, with the real action coming towards the end of the day.

From almost when the flag dropped, three riders from Gazprom-RusVelo, Dmitry Strahkov, Pavel Kochetkov and Michael Kukrle attacked, along with Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè). The Gazprom riders were attempting to maintain the lead of Strahkov in the intermediate sprints comptetition.

They were caught after 40km in front after crosswinds caused an acceleration and then a split in the bunch; Adam Yates and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) were among those caught out by the brief separation.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) contested the first intermediate sprint, in the red leaders and green points jerseys respectively. The bonus seconds gained by Pogačar meant that he has extended his lead in the general classification.

The peloton came back together after 20km apart, and Strahkov, Tonelli and Kochetkov were again part of a breakaway that also included Johnatan Cañaveral of Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè. Strahkov claimed the second intermediate sprint, before the attack was swept up by the peloton.

With 31km to go, Kukrle attacked again, and remained alone out front until 2.8km to the finish.

Inside the final 7km, Pogačar faced a brief moment of danger when he punctured, but the Slovenian quickly made it back to the bunch and continued his overall lead in the race as a result.

In the sprint, Israel-Premier Tech kicked their leadout off first, aiming to deliver Rudy Barbier in a prime position. Bora-Hansgrohe then took to the front, but Sam Bennett went early and could not keep up with Philipsen when he finally launched his sprint.

Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) rounded Bennett in the final metres to take second, while Philipsen was able to enjoy his victory in front.

Results

UAE Tour 2022, Stage five: Ras al Khaimah Corniche to Al Marjan Island (182km)

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix, in 4-17-04
2. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at same time
3. Sam Bennett (Ire) Bora-Hansgrohe
4. Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
5. Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel-Premier Tech
6. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
9. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar
10. Marc Brustenga (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, all at same time

General classification after stage five

1. Tadej Pogačar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates, in 18-19-37
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 4s
3. Aleksandr Vlasov (Kaz) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 14s
4. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 17s
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 25s
6. João Almeida (Por) UAE-Team Emirates, at 30s
7. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 37s
8. Óscar Rodríguez (Esp) Movistar, at 40s
9. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-EasyPost, at 42s
10. Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team, at 43s