Jesper Philipsen is delighted with the victory. © APA/afp / GONZALO FUENTES

An emotional victory at the Tour de France

Jasper Philipsen collapsed onto the asphalt in Voiron, overjoyed, after the former sprint king had finally raced to his happy ending at the Tour de France.

July 22, 2026

From: dpa/det

“It’s always strange to win after such a long period of suffering, but you must never give up, you must always fight. I am very proud, very happy that I finally made it,” said the Belgian high-speed sprinter after his victory on stage 17.

After all the setbacks, bad luck, and mishaps, Philipsen finally pulled it off in the sprinters' last chance. "During that period of failure, I wasn't easy for my teammates to bear. Every evening I was disappointed in myself, but my teammates supported and cheered me up," Philipsen reported. One day after Florian Lipowitz's dramatic crash and subsequent exit, the sprinter triumphed after 174,7 kilometers, ahead of the Swiss rider Mauro Schmid and the Dutchman Olav Kooij.

Jasper Philipsen dropped to the ground. © APA/afp / GONZALO FUENTES

Philipsen, now an eleven-time Tour de France stage winner, had to wait a long time for his breakthrough. In the early sprints, he was uncompetitive despite the presence of superb lead-out man Mathieu van der Poel. The 2025 Tour had already been a disappointing start for the 28-year-old. Although he won the opening stage and the yellow jersey, he was forced to abandon the race two days later after a crash that resulted in a broken collarbone and fractured ribs. On Wednesday, he finally broke through.

Favorites with a leisurely stage

The favorites, led by race leader Tadej Pogacar, took a "rest day" before the three challenging Alpine stages and finished almost nine minutes behind. This leaves the Slovenian world champion still 4:32 minutes ahead of two-time Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel of Belgium in the overall standings. Pogacar's teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico is third, 6:51 minutes back.

The race heads into the Alps on Thursday, starting with the mountain finish in Orcières-Merlette and then the double spectacle at the cycling mecca of Alpe d'Huez. Then the stars of the sport will be put to the test. Pogacar seems almost unstoppable on his way to a fifth Tour victory.