
Jasper Philipsen of Belgium won the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday in a bunch sprint, with a powerful lead-out from his teammate Mathieu van der Poel. The 174.7 km stage started in Chambery and ended in Voiron near the Alps.
The 28-year-old Alpecin-Premier Tech rider finished several bike lengths ahead of Mauro Schmid of Switzerland and Olav Kooij of the Netherlands. Philipsen had come close on several other sprint stages at the Tour, finishing five times in the top five already.
"Such a roller-coaster of emotions on this Tour," Philipsen said after the stage. "The first 12 stages were just horrible - I couldn't find myself; couldn't find the feeling I was hoping for. After 17 stages to take victory, it's really one for the team for keeping on believing in me."
The stage flattened in the latter stages to suit the sprinters, but not before more than 40 riders got away from the peloton, including current green jersey wearer Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, British rider Josh Tarling of Netcompany Ineos Cycling, and Lewis Askey of Spain's NSN Cycling. Denmark's Pedersen eventually finished eighth but retained the green jersey by only seven points in the standings over Philipsen in second.
The win moves Philipsen to within seven points of Pedersen in the competition for the green jersey.
Race leader Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia came home safely in the main peloton, nearly nine minutes behind the sprint finish. Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG teammate Adam Yates struggled throughout the stage after suffering from a stomach problem the previous night.
Philipsen had struggled in this race to catch compatriot Tim Merlier in the final phases of sprints. After stage seven, he was seen on social media tossing his bike in frustration after Van der Poel mis-timed his lead-out and Philipsen became blocked in.
Philipsen's victory is his 11th Tour de France stage win overall. He won the green jersey in 2023 but had struggled to match his form in this year's race until this stage.
The stage was marked by several breakaway attempts, with more than 40 riders eventually getting away from the peloton. However, the sprinters' teams worked hard to reel in the breakaway, setting up a bunch sprint finish.
Philipsen's victory comes after a frustrating start to the Tour de France for the Belgian rider. He had been struggling to find his form and had come close to victory in several previous stages without success. His teammate Van der Poel played a crucial role in the victory, providing a strong lead-out in the final kilometers.
The Tour de France continues with three more stages in the Alps before the final stage in Paris on Sunday.
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