Philipsen confirms his sprint superiority with poker

Euphoric and with four fingers pointing to his winning poker, Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck) celebrated the status of the best sprinter of the Tour at the finish of the eleventh stage between Clermont-Ferrand and Moulins, of 179.8 km, a day of peace kept by Danish leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma).

Without a doubt, Jasper Philipsen he is relentless in the sprint and wins with tremendous ease. It showed in Bayonne, Nogar, Bordeaux and this time in Moulins, where he left the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco) and the German Phil Bahaus (Bahrain) with honey on their lips.

Philipsen celebrated with a time of 4:01.07, with an average of 44 km/h, thus registering his fifth victory on the Tour. The peloton broke up before the finish line when the frenzy started, the favorites cut the winner to 7 seconds.

The general did not tolerate movement. vingegaard (jumbo) and pogacar (UAE) separates them by 17 seconds in favor of the Dane, the third on the podium is the Australian Jai Hindley (Bora Hansgrohe). Two Spaniards in the top 5: carlos rodriguez (Ineos) fourth at 4.22 and bilbao hair (Bahrain) at 4:34 am.

The Biscay cyclist, a hero the day before in Issoire with a victory that ended Spain’s drought of 5 years and 100 stages, He celebrated the renewal with Bahrain until 2026. “The deal is closed, but we used yesterday’s victory to announce it,” said a happy Pello Bilbao.

Harmless escape, processing team

Clermont Ferrand, always with the Puy de Dôme in sight, started the stage that was to go halfway through the Tour, this time with less heat, with a leaden, greyish sky, like the stage itself, devoid of incentives that would move away from a more than singing arrival at the sprint. The city that saw the birth of what sounds like the next driver of Movistar, Remi Cavagna, called “El TGV de Clermont”, although, interestingly, the high-speed train does not reach the Auvergne capital.

On the way to Moulins only three runners refused to be bored in the group, but knowing that the day of glory would not come for them. Costa Rican cyclist Andrey Amador (EF Education), Liège-based Frenchman Matîs Louvel (Arkéa) and Italian veteran Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies) soon left.

With a breakaway maintained by a platoon that became a well-matched crowd, no changes, zero attacks, all at a comfortable pace, the cyclists were only hindered by heavy rain in the last section.

Jumbo rides the train, but the fastest is Philipsen

the last rebel Daniel Oss brought out the white flag with 13.5 minutes to go. Only the beginning of the sprint was not heard. El Soudal attacked, as always, from distance trying to impose his “train”, but Jumbo, 5 from the goal, put 4 players in front, including Vingegaard, to place Van Aert.

at this occasion Locomotive Mathieu Van der Poel was not in front to launch Philipsen, but the green jersey, was searching for his life to find his wheel to follow and attack around 200 meters from the line. With “cheetahs” of 70 per hour, the Belgian once again, inexorably, took off and put the lighter on the table.

This Thursday, the twelfth stage offers a mid-mountain menu between Roanne and Blleville-En-Beaujolais168.8 km route with 5 difficulties, the most interesting in the second half, with the Col de la Casse Froide (3rd), La Croix Montmain (2nd, 5.5 km to 6.1) and the last Col de la Croix Rosier (2nd 5.3 km to 7.6), with the best 28 from the finish line.