Other Sports by Brobbey - 4 months ago

Jasper Philipsen Claims Stage 10 Victory in Tour de France

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen surged to victory in a sprint finish on stage 10 of the Tour de France, while Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey as the overall leader. Philipsen, expertly led out by his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel, comfortably held off Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay and Germany’s Pascal Ackermann, who finished second and third, respectively.

The 187.3km stage from Orleans to Saint-Amand-Montrond saw Slovenia’s Pogacar finish safely in the main bunch, as the expected threat of crosswinds and echelons did not materialize. Pogacar, riding for UAE-Team Emirates, now leads Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step by 33 seconds, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike in third, one minute 15 seconds further back in the general classification.

Philipsen, who had a dominant sprinting performance last year with four stage wins, faced a challenging start this year. A crash on stage three, a second-place finish behind Mark Cavendish on stage five, and a demotion on stage six had marred his Tour. However, with Van der Poel’s assistance, Philipsen secured a stage win, closing the gap to Girmay in the green jersey competition.

“We had some bad luck. I am really happy – it is a big relief. We can finally show our strength, with our lead-out train and did finally what we came for,” said Philipsen. “Mathieu is a really strong guy. When he can show his power and play his part, there aren’t many riders who can emulate him. Having the world champion as your lead-out guy is fantastic.”

On Wednesday, the Tour crosses the rolling terrain of the Massif Central, traveling 211km from Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran.

Stage 10 Results: