Belgian Jasper Philipsen secured his second victory in this year’s Tour de France on Friday amidst a dramatic sprint finish in Pau, marred by a crash involving several riders.
Wout van Aert finished second and Pascal Ackermann took third place, while Biniam Girmay retained the green sprint jersey and Tadej Pogacar maintained the overall race leader’s yellow jersey after the 13th stage.
The sprint event saw a high-speed collision just 500 meters from the finish line.
Philipsen, riding for Alpecin, is widely regarded as the premier sprinter in the peloton since claiming the green jersey in 2023, although attention has recently been on Eritrean rider Girmay, who has won three stages and garnered significant acclaim.
“I kept believing because I felt good. I could start my sprint with confidence, and I’m glad no one could overtake me,” said Philipsen.
“This is the best feeling I’ve had so far in the Tour de France. We didn’t have the best start, both in terms of performance and luck, but I’m happy we turned it around. Two stage wins is a solid achievement for this Tour.”
Girmay now leads the points classification with 346 points compared to Philipsen’s 271, with few sprint stages left in the competition.
Pogacar, who finished ninth in the sprint, commented, “Why not, I had good legs. It was a relatively easy day, so it was a bit of fun.”
Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic did not start the stage, having withdrawn due to two recent falls and the impending mountain stages this weekend, making his departure unavoidable.
Pogacar also faced setbacks as his key climber Juan Ayuso withdrew halfway through the stage due to illness.
“Juan felt unwell during stage 12, and unfortunately, his symptoms worsened overnight,” said UAE Team doctors.
Despite these challenges, Pogacar leads Remco Evenepoel by 1 minute and 6 seconds in the overall standings, with Jonas Vingegaard in third place, 1 minute and 14 seconds behind.
The upcoming stages include the daunting Col du Tourmalet ascent on Saturday and a challenging route to Plateau de Beille on Sunday, which will likely shape the final outcome of the race.
