Present in a breakaway of four riders, the Dane (Soudal-Quick Step) resisted the return of the peloton on Thursday to clinch his first victory on the Tour.
The scenario seemed sewn with white thread, but everything was turned upside down. After six grueling stages leaving no chance for the sprinters to shine, Jasper Philipsen and the big thighs were expected in Bourg-en-Bresse on Thursday 20 July. But the breakaway, which never counted more than a minute and forty seconds in advance, resisted the return of the peloton and Kasper Asgreen won.
First victory on the Tour de France for the winner of the Tour of Flanders 2021, first success for his Soudal Quick-Step team on this edition, which had lost its card in the sprint, Fabio Jakobsen, a week earlier.
The tireless rider, who took the majority of the stints at the head of the race, settled his breakaway partners, finishing ahead of Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X). A breath behind these three men, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) crossed the line in 4th position, ahead of the other sprinters. The Belgian will not have been entitled to his fifth success on this edition of the Grande Boucle.
Philipsen authoritarian, then overwhelmed
However, the latter had assigned his teammates to ensure the pursuit, and even benefited from the work of other formations such as Jayco-Alula and DSM-Firmenich. When attacks shook the peloton on the Boissier coast 80 km from the finish, the green jersey, in person, had played the police. He had, for example, jumped into the wheel of Pascal Eenkhoorn, before going up to him to intimidate him. But the Dutchman ended up fleeing, then linking up with the three members of the initial breakaway, including his teammate Victor Campenaerts. A welcome reinforcement which weighed in the balance on arrival.
At the end of this transition stage, no upheaval in the general classification is to be noted. Jonas Vingegaard remains firmly attached to his yellow jersey. No change either concerning the identity of the wearers of distinctive jerseys: Giulio Ciccone keeps the polka dots, Jasper Philipsen the green tunic and Tadej Pogacar the white jersey. On the other hand, Wout van Aert left the race to attend the birth of his second child and Simon Geschke retired, exhausted.