Sprint king Philipsen slips into the yellow jersey

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the opening stage of the 112th Tour de France. The 27-year-old Belgian took the yellow jersey in Lille, celebrating a special success.

July 05, 2025

From: dpa

The fast men in the peloton rarely have the chance to wear the most prestigious jersey in cycling. It was Philipsen's tenth Tour stage win. Near the imposing fortress of the northern French city, Philipsen prevailed after the largely flat 184,9 kilometers with start and finish in Lille, ahead of Eritrean pro Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Norwegian Sören Wahrenskjold (Uno-X Mobility). The German sprinters Pascal Ackermann and Phil Bauhaus came away empty-handed, while debutant Marius Mayrhofer finished ninth.

German cycling hopeful Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) experienced a slight scare right on his debut stage. The 24-year-old, who many experts believe is capable of a top-10 finish, was frustrated by a flat tire during the race. Although the puncture was quickly repaired, the third-place finisher in the Tour of the Dauphiné had to make up nearly 40 seconds before rejoining the peloton.

Tour de France straight to the point

On the second day, the pros face the longest stage of the race on Sunday. On the 209,1 kilometers between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France, the breakaway riders and classics experts have high hopes of winning the stage. Among them is Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, who won the classics Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix this spring.

Keywords cycling racing bike Tour de France 1st stage