MOULINS, FRANCE: Belgian Jasper Philipsen sprinted to his fourth stage win on this year’s Tour de France with a powerful last burst on stage 11 from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins.
The Alpecin sprinter edged Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen to the line on Wednesday with Phil Bauhaus in third. There was no change in the overall standings between race favorites Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.
Philipsen has dominated the bunch sprints on this Tour although two of his three previous triumphs were garnered with some wobbly maneuvers that had to be validated by the race commissaire.
In the final sprint during his first win at Bayonne he appeared to swerve in front of Wout Van Aert.
He then won out after a series of falls at the Nogaro motorbike circuit.
On the banks of the Garonne at Bordeaux for his third stage win he also appeared to cut off the path for Biniam Girmay, who waved his arms in anger before Philipsen was again cleared.
“Looking back I never believed I had done anything wrong,” Philipsen said Wednesday of the reviews.
“It’s been an incredible Tour so far.”
He was positive looking forward too.
“It looks like there might be three more stages that are possible to win, even if that will be difficult to control,” said Philipsen.
He was also starting to sound more confident of landing the overall green jersey once the race winds up in Paris on July 23.
“I think I’ve made a good gap in the standings and that gives me a bit of comfort going into the Alps.
“I’m super proud, I’m also really happy with my shape.”
Philipsen leads the sprint points race by 145 points, with Frenchman Bryan Coquard second on 178.
Race leader Vingegaard and second-placed Pogacar remain separated by just 17 seconds, with Australian rider Jai Hindley in third at 2min 40sec.
Pogacar clawed back a few seconds for a second time on stage nine after the Dane dropped his rival to gain 53 seconds on him in Laruns on stage five.
Vingegaard, the defending champion, is relishing each day spent in the race leader’s yellow jersey.
“There’s a lot of respect for the yellow jersey even if some guys don’t care,” said Vingegaard.
“I enjoy wearing the yellow jersey every day, it’s the nicest jersey in cycling.”
Stage 11 left the industrial city of Clermont-Ferrand, where the tire company Michelin has its base, and headed north-east to Moulins as the action closes in on the Alps.
It was a largely flat stage raced under overcast skies with the temperatures down considerably from Tuesday’s testing 38C peak.
An escape group of three riders struck out from the start with Daniel Oss of Total Energies holding out longest before he was caught by the bunch 10km from Moulins.
Neilson Powless of Education First took the polka dot climbing jersey after stage one and has stubbornly clung on to it.
The American team also lost their leader on stage one when Richard Carapaz fell, so the jersey has been a fun form of consolation, albeit likely a temporary diversion.
The American rider should hold on Thursday for the hilly run through the Beaujolais region before three straight mountain stages round out the week.
On July 14, France’s beloved Bastille Day national holiday, there is a summit finish at Le Grand Colombier — a regular obstacle on recent Tours.
Saturday ends with a sensational downhill ride from Les Portes du Soleil, while Sunday should be a blockbuster climb at Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc.
