| TOUR DE FRANCE Philipsen secures 4th sprint win The Associated Press
MOULINS, France — Jasper Philipsen is in a class of his own when it comes to sprinting at the Tour de France. He is so strong that even when the teammate in charge of setting him up is not there, he still wins in the end. The Belgian sprinter posted his fourth stage win at this year’s Tour de France on Wednesday, taking his career tally to six. “It’s been an incredible Tour so far,” Philipsen said after outclassing the field. “I can’t realize how good it is all going, so I’m super proud and really happy with my shape. And also, to get through the final without problems is also a big challenge, and we managed to do it four times, so I’m super happy.” There were no major changes in the general classification: Jonas Vingegaard kept his 17-second lead over two-time champion Tadej Pogacar. Jai Hindley remained in third place, 2 minutes, 40 seconds off the pace. Philipsen, who rides for Alpecin–Deceuninck, had been perfectly guided by his leadout man Mathieu van der Poel in his three previous stage wins. Left on his own this time, he perfectly timed his move and once again proved strongest in the frenetic last kilometer of the 112-mile Stage 11 from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins in central France. Philipsen has lost just one of the five mass sprints that took place at this year’s Tour when Mad Pedersen won Stage 8. With van der Poel not taking part in Wednesday’s sprint, Philipsen navigated his way through traffic at an average speed of 65.6 kmh (40.8 mph) in the last kilometer to join Mark Cavendish as the only active rider with at least four stage wins in a single Tour edition. Cavendish crashed out of the race last week. “I can also win without [van der Poel], but of course, he makes it more easy,” Philipsen said. After Alexander Kristoff launched the sprint, Dylan Groenewegen countered with Philipsen on his wheel. | |