SerpApi.Org
Jasper Philipsen took a dominant victory in a reduced bunch sprint Wednesday at the end of Stage 17 of the Tour de France 2026 to end a "horrible" run of near misses.
Set up by a strong lead-out from his former world champion teammate Mathieu van der Poel, Philipsen finished several bike lengths ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij, who had each already won a stage at the TDF 2026.
It was an 11th Tour stage victory overall for the 28-year-old Belgian, who won the sprinters' green points jersey in 2023. It meant that he has won at least one stage in each of the last five editions of the Tour de France.
He had come close on several other sprint stages this year, finishing in the top 5 five times already. And he admitted that it had been frustrating.
"I was prepared very, very well, I was in the shape of my life," Philipsen said. "The first stage (of the race) was horrible, I couldn't find myself, I couldn't find the form I was hoping for. After 17 stages... we won for the team."
In several of those near misses, Van der Poel had tried to lead him out, but often a fraction too early, with Philipsen being caught and passed before the finish - usually by compatriot Tim Merlier.
But Merlier had dropped out of the Tour a few days earlier, unable to keep up on a tough mountain stage, and this time, Philipsen proved the quickest at the end of the 174.7-kilometer stage from Chambery to Voiron.
"I think it was a very hard day all day, and I just tried to be in the front, (to) be in each important group and then everything came together," Van der Poel said. "And then Edward (Planckaert) was in the front group, so in the end, you always had somebody in one of the groups, and that was what made the victory a bit easier to achieve."
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2026 Tour de France
Frantic, Hectic Day In Stage 17 Of Tour de France 2026
The 50 points Philipsen earned for winning the stage also moved him to within seven points of another former world champion, Dane Mads Pedersen, in the green jersey competition.
Race leader and two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar came home safely in the main peloton just under nine minutes later.
But there was one concern for Pogačar, whose UAE Emirates-XRG teammate Adam Yates - a crucial mountain lieutenant - struggled throughout the stage after suffering from a stomach problem the previous night.
He eventually came home more than 26 minutes after Philipsen.
It was a day of frantic, hectic bike racing.
It took more than 100 kilometers for a breakaway to stick and, eventually, a six-man group opened a lead at the head of the race.
Amongst them was Pedersen, who was eying maximum points at the intermediate sprint 27km from the finish.
He duly won that but almost immediately, Jasper Styuven attacked and went clear of his breakaway companions.
Behind them, a larger group, including Philipsen and Kooij, was gaining steadily, and they soon caught the other five riders.
Stuyven battled on gamely, but he was reeled in less than 4 kilometers from the line.
From then on, Van der Poel worked tirelessly to ensure that no one could clip off the front and then still had the energy to tee up his Alpecin Premier Tech teammate for the win.
Tour de France 2026 Stage 17 Results – Top 25
- Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 3:41:03 (B10)
- Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) – 3:41:07 (B6)
- Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 3:41:09 (B4)
- Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) – 3:41:13
- Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 3:41:13
- Huub Artz (Groupama - FDJ United) – 3:41:13
- Clément Russo (Lotto Intermarché) – 3:41:13
- Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) – 3:41:13
- Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) – 3:41:13
- Aaron Gate (XDS Astana Team) – 3:41:13
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 3:41:13
- Hugo Page (Cofidis) – 3:41:13
- Matej Mohorič (Bahrain - Victorious) – 3:41:13
- Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 3:41:13
- Joris Delbove (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) – 3:41:13
- Abel Balderstone (TotalEnergies) – 3:41:13
- Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) – 3:41:13
- Georg Zimmermann (Lotto Intermarché) – 3:41:13
- Guillaume Martin (Groupama - FDJ United) – 3:41:13
- Quinten Hermans (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 3:41:13
- Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek) – 3:41:13
- Jai Hindley (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 3:41:13
- Nico Denz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 3:41:13
- Per Strand Hagenes (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 3:41:13
- Alex Baudin (EF Education - EasyPost) – 3:41:13
Tour de France 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 17
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 60:03:25 (B52)
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 60:03:57 (B20)
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 60:04:01 (B24)
- Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 60:04:09 (B8)
- Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek) – 60:13:39
- Lenny Martinez (Lidl - Trek) – 60:14:31
- Mattias Skjelmose (Bahrain - Victorious) – 60:17:07
- Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 60:17:07 (B8)
- Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 60:18:21
- Yannis Voisard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 60:28:35
- Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) – 60:29:19
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 60:30:02 (B4)
- Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 60:31:45
- Egan Bernal (Netcompany INEOS) – 60:43:31
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 60:51:21
- Adam Yates (Uno-X Mobility) – 60:55:30 (B6)
- Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 60:55:46
- Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 60:57:21
- Sean Quinn (EF Education - EasyPost) – 61:11:04
- Tiesj Benoot (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 61:11:19
- Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 61:11:56
- Jai Hindley (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 61:13:14
- Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek) – 61:22:50 (B6)
- Carlos Verona (Lidl - Trek) – 61:25:42
- Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) – 61:31:33
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