The box full of Philipsen. After Bayonne and Nogaro, the Belgian Jasqper Philipsen won by one bike ahead of Mark Cavendish in Bordeaux to sign a 3rd stage victory, during the 3rd sprint of the Tour. The sprinter from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team was once again able to benefit from the work of his teammate Mathieu Van der Poel. But after the launch of the Belgian, he had a slight moment of hesitation, ultimately not detrimental.
Cavendish approaching. The Briton (Astana) is chasing after a record 35th success on the Tour. 6th in Bayonne (3rd stage), 5th in Nogaro (4th stage), Mark Cavendish rose to 2nd place (ahead of the Eritrean Biniam Girmay, a little crushed by Philipsen in the last meters. He remains tied with Eddy Merckx (34).
The fighting spirit of Guglielmi. After Laurent Pichon (3rd stage) and Anthony Delaplace (4th), Simon Guglielmi had the honors of a breakaway, a new opportunity to display the colors of Arkea-Samsic. Guglielmi quickly launched the right move, he then received the help of Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroën) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies). Before being dropped by the duo 37 km from the finish and being swallowed up by the peloton after a great day spent at the front.
The Baracchi Trophy by Latour and Peters. The French bravely played their luck, counting 1’10” 25 km from the finish, before clinging to 28” 10 km from the line. Pierre Latour maintaining the last hope alone 6 km from the goal, to finally bow 3.5 km against a peloton launched at high speed and determined not to let slip a third explanation in the sprint.
Sagan back. The Slovak from TotalEnergies is living his last Tour. With the ambition to shine. But for the moment he does not manage to place his burst of speed. 19th in Bayonne, 13th in Nogaro, the triple world champion had to settle for 17th place in Bordeaux.
Ewan trapped. 3rd in Bayonne, 2nd in Nogaro, the Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny), who stood out as one of Jasper Philipsen’s main rivals, was cut off by a rider from the Bora-Hansgrohe team (Jordi Meeus) in its tracks. He had to settle for 45th place and hopes to be able to catch up in Limoges this Saturday.
Groenewegen, a first top 5. 8th in Bayonne, 14th in Nogaro, the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (last year’s stage winner in Sonderborg) had to settle for 5th place in Bordeaux. He is getting closer but not enough to overshadow the striker, Jasper Philipsen, the green jersey at the point of lethal speed.