After two fifth places, a fourth and two third places, at Voiron (the finish line of the seventeenth stage of the 2026 Tour de France starting from Chambery and covering 174 kilometers) finally comes the long-awaited victory for Jasper Philipsen. Perfectly launched by Mathieu van der Poel, this time the Belgian from Alpecin Premier Tech had no trouble annihilating the competition in a sprint that saw him finish with a clear margin ahead of Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CGA CGM), both already winners in this Grande Boucle.

THE RACE

The stage gets underway from Chambery at absolutely explosive pace, with attacks and counterattacks following one another without interruption from the very first kilometers of racing. The inaugural attempt by Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) indeed acts as a spark for 71 fiery kilometers where, some solo and others in larger groups, many try unsuccessfully to escape from the peloton.

It is only when the race returns to the streets of Chambery, and thus having left behind the main climbing difficulties, that those up front finally manage to break away in a group of sixteen: Per Strand Hagenes (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Jai Hindley (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek), Alex Baudin (EF Education - EasyPost), Tiesj Benoot (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain - Victorious), Egan Bernal and Joshua Tarling (Netcompany INEOS), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech), Felix Engelhardt (Team Jayco AlUla), Pablo Castrillo and Einer Rubio (Movistar Team), Clément Braz Afonso and Guillaume Martin (Groupama - FDJ United) and Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team).

These men, however, must contend with the "hunger" of Decathlon CGA CGM and in particular Olav Kooij who, having remained up front alongside other top sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), induces the peloton to chase them without giving them much room until, 83 kilometers from the finish, the French team suddenly decides to stop pulling.

This decision allows Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma Lease a Bike) and Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) to promptly launch a counterattack and rejoin, after about a dozen kilometers of chasing, the sixteen riders in the breakaway. The group of attackers, however, despite having new forces within it, sees its advantage over the chasers diminish because, behind them, Decathlon and Uno-X find a new agreement that brings the gap between the two groups down to 20 seconds.

At this point, the cards are reshuffled with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) who, attacking violently, rejoins the fugitives and is soon imitated by 13 other men. The collaboration among the thirty athletes at the front, however, lasts little because, 57 kilometers from the finish, the ever-unleashed Dane further selects the leading group by breaking away with Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost), Michal Kwiatkowski (Netcompany INEOS), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla) and Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Premier Tech), men who, unlike what happened previously, quickly find agreement to rapidly increase their margin over the first chasing group which, from 26 riders, becomes even 38, 43 kilometers from the finish.

With this situation, they thus reach the intermediate sprint at Colombe (1st Pedersen) after which, 25 kilometers from the finish, Stuyven leaves the other five attackers behind, attempting a solo breakaway. While behind his former adventure companions are caught by the 44-strong group also containing Philipsen and Kooij, the Soudal Quick-Step Belgian puts his head down to fuel a dream that is extinguished only 3,700 meters from the line when, from behind, they close the gap on him.

The stage is thus decided by the sprint of a select group which, thanks to the superb leadout of Mathieu van der Poel, smiles on Jasper Philipsen, who is skilled, with the first place obtained ahead of Schmid and Kooij, in extending his series of victories at the Tour de France that began in 2022.

Moreover, thanks to today's victory, the twenty-eight-year-old from Mol moves to just seven points behind Mads Pedersen in the points classification, definitively reopening a contest that, in the next four stages, will undoubtedly take on interesting contours. It is difficult, however, that a battle on the same lines can ignite for the yellow jersey of the ever-leading Tadej Pogacar, ready once again from tomorrow to face with the bearing of a master the concluding trilogy in the Alps, controlling closely the rivals who will compete for positions in the general classification behind him.

For this mission, it remains to be seen whether the Slovenian will be able to count on the support or not of Adam Yates, who today appeared in evident physical difficulty at the end of a stage that saw him cross the finish line more than 26 minutes behind Philipsen, escorted by Tim Wellens: in the coming hours, evaluations will inevitably be made on the Briton to understand whether to let him continue the French adventure alongside the World Champion.

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FINISHING ORDER

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL/Alpecin-Premier Tech) - 3:41:13

2. Mauro Schmid (SUI/Jayco-AlUla) - s.t.

3. Olav Kooij (NED/Decathlon-CMA CGM) - s.t.

4. Lewis Askey (GBR/NSN Cycling) - s.t.

5. Rick Pluimers (NED/Tudor Pro Cycling) - s.t.

6. Clément Russo (FRA/Groupama-FDJ United) - s.t.

7. Huub Artz (NED/Lotto-Intermarché) - s.t.

8. Mads Pedersen (DAN/Lidl-Trek) - s.t.

9. Michael Matthews (AUS/Jayco-AlUla) - s.t.

10. Aaron Gate (NZL/XDS-Astana) - s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE Emirates-XRG) - 60:04:17

2. Remco Evenepoel (BEL/Red Bull-Bora) at 4:32

3. Isaac del Toro (MEX/UAE Emirates-XRG) 6:51

4. Paul Seixas (FRA/Decathlon-CMA CGM) at 7:11

5. Juan Ayuso (SPA/Lidl-Trek) at 9:22

6. Mattias Skjelmose (DAN/Lidl-Trek) at 10:14

7. Lenny Martinez (FRA/Bahrain-Victorious) at 12:50

8. Thomas Pidcock (GBR/Pinarello-Q36.5) at 12:58

9. Jordan Jegat (FRA/TotalEnergies) at 14:04

10. Yannis Voisard (SUI/Tudor Pro Cycling) at 24:18

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS

Points classification: Mads Pedersen (DAN/Lidl-Trek)

King of the Mountains classification: Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

Best Young Rider classification: Isaac Del Toro (MEX/UAE Team Emirates-XRG)

Best Team: Lidl-Trek