Belgian sprinter Philipsen wins third stage in Tour de France

Jasper Philipsen has won the third stage of the Tour de France. The Belgian cyclist from Alpecin-Deceuninck crossed the line first after more than 193 kilometers in a bunch sprint, the first in this edition of the Tour. He was dropped off before the finish by, among others, his Dutch teammate Mathieu van der Poel, who started the sprint for him. Philipsen was able to finish the preliminary work and finished ahead of German Phil Bauhaus and Australian Caleb Ewan. Philipsen’s compatriot Wout van Aert was boxed in at the end of the sprint and finished fifth.

After an uphill battle between the GC riders in the first two stages, the peloton took it easy in the third stage. Neilson Powless and Laurent Pichon made an early breakaway, but their lead never grew big enough to stay away. In the peloton, the sprinter teams did their job to keep the lead from getting too far. From the Spanish part of the Basque Country, Pichon crossed the French border alone. There he was taken back at 37 kilometers from the finish and the peloton headed for an inevitable mass sprint.

Leading up to the sprint, which was picked up at more than 70 kilometers per hour, the Alpecin-Deceuninck squad did the best of the prep work, giving 25-year-old Philipsen his third Tour de France stage win in his career. The Dutch sprinters were not involved. Fabio Jakobsen was fourth, Dylan Groenewegen eighth.

In the general classification, Briton Adam Yates retains the yellow jersey, six seconds behind Slovenian Tadej Pogacar and his twin brother Simon, whom he beat in the first stage. The Frenchman Victor Lafay is fourth in the general classification and may start on Tuesday as leader of the points classification in the green jersey. Neilson Powless defended his polka dot jersey for best climber, which he has owned since the first stage.

On Tuesday, the peloton will ride eastwards in the direction of Nogaro in the next flat stage from Dax. There, the sprinters hope to compete again for day success. One of the contenders is 38-year-old Briton Cavendish. He hopes to win his 35th stage in the Tour. This would make him the record for most stage victories. Now he has to share that with the Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx.

Also read this report by sports editor Sam de Voogt: Spanish riders also do not achieve Tour success in their own country