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Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wins (Image: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT AFP via Getty Images)
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BikeExchange leads the peloton (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Tour de France rivals: Thaddeus Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
The Tour de France peloton uses cold water to stay cool (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Jonas Vingegaard in the Tour de France peloton (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Tadej Pogacar in the white jersey of the best young competitor (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Tour de France riders used ice packs to try and stay cool (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Thaddeus Pogacar wore an ice vest at the start of stage 15 of the Tour de France (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Geraint Thomas waves to the crowd at the Tour de France (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Tour de France yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Image: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Tour de France leader Jonas Wingegaard tries to keep his cool (Image credit: Getty Images)Image 1 of 19
Benjamin Thomas after his brave attempt to win the stage (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Jonas Vingegaard on the podium in Carcassonne (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Jonas Vingegaard on the podium in Carcassonne (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Thaddeus Pogacar goes for a COVID test after stage 15 (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Riders wait in line for COVID tests (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Nils Pollitt was the most combative rider (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Mountain leader Simon Geschke on the podium (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
Wout van Aert on the points podium (Image: Getty Images Sport)Image 1 of 19
He had to stop once, then again as he sprinted his way through the final 200 metres, but with a powerful burst of speed, Jasper Philipsen blasted to his first Tour de France stage win on a scorching hot day in Carcassonne.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider came from behind as Trek-Segafredo’s Mads Pedersen opened the sprint, then pounced on the inside of the final turn to pass and pass green jersey holder Watt van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) as Pedersen faded to third.
After finishing in the top three eight times in the Tour de France sprints but never taking a win until today, Philipsen was understandably emotional in his post-race interview.
“That makes it super amazing,” he said of his previous misses. “I know what it’s like to lose in the Tour de France. I’ve been close many times. That it happened today is incredible. I can not believe.
“I could feel Waught closing in, but I also knew the finish line from last year. We pitted just before the last corner and I knew it wasn’t long after the last corner. I knew I had to catch up. It was good to get past Mads.”
Alpecin-Deceuninck was unlucky in 2021 when Mathieu van der Poel won a stage and led the race in the first week. Van der Poel struggled after a difficult Giro d’Italia and crashed out on stage 11.
“It was massive demand for this win,” Philipsen said. “We worked really hard on this. I’m super proud that we finally managed to finish it after a tough tour. We had to wait until stage 15 with the team, but everyone still believed it was possible. I’m super happy.
“I knew I had strong legs, but we just had to wait for the right time and the right opportunity and today was the day.”
It was a less-than-perfect day for Jumbo-Visma, however, as race leader Jonas Vingegaard lost Primož Roglič before the start, then another strong climber Steven Kruijswijk dropped out mid-stage just days before the race headed into the Pyrenees.
Vingegaard also crashed but came back into the race to maintain his 2:22 lead over Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), while Geraint Thomas remained third at 2:43.
The Dane said his injuries were limited to some road rash.
“Today was not the best day for us,” Vingegaard said. “Steven pulled out of the race and Teesge and I both crashed so it’s not the best day. I’m fine and I hope Tees is fine too. It’s a bad day but it can happen.”
How did it develop?
With temperatures already 32C at the start in Rodez, the peloton knew they were facing another hot day in the saddle for the 202.5km journey south to Carcassonne through the sunflower and wheat fields of the Occitania region of south-west France.
Competitors wore ice vests, ice packs around their necks and made sure they were hydrated before and during the race. Feeding was allowed from the beginning and the deadline was extended, but no one asked for a reduction in the stage. C’est le Tour and the show must go on.
Indeed, the attacks came as soon as the flag dropped and again Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was there, although the team decided to withdraw Primož Roglič from the race due to his crash injuries. Magnus Kort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) were the other non-starters, both testing positive for COVID-19 before stage 15.
Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Mikkel Honoré (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) joined Van Aert and as the peloton opted to let them go, a breakaway was formed quickly. They opened up a 1:30 lead before BikeExchange-Jayco and Alpecin-Deceuninck moved into the lead to keep them in check.
When the Jumbo-Visma car managed to pass the peloton and join Van Aert after 30 kilometers, they ordered their man to ease up and go back; there was no tactical necessity for him to ride in front in such a small group. Van Aert didn’t look too pleased, but followed orders, leaving Honore and Polit to ride as a pair.
Despite temperatures reaching 37°C on the open roads, the two bravely pushed on, only to be held back by the peloton around 2:00. Honoré had clearly been given the freedom to attack. Fabio Jakobsen’s leading man Michael Mørkøv crashed early in the stage and faced a personal battle for survival. He would have completed the stage but missed the time limit.
The central 100km of the stage was a game of cat and mouse between Honore and Polit and the peloton. The two never settled, but neither did the peloton, with Chris Juul-Jensen doing a lot of pace work.
Photographers had time to take their traditional sunflower shots of the peloton as racers grabbed cans and homeboys made multiple trips to their team cars for more ice.
As France sweltered in the heat, protesters once again attempted to derail the Tour de France to highlight their cause. However, the race police quickly got them out of the way and Honoré and Polit continued, as did the peloton.
The relaxed atmosphere ended with 64 kilometers to go. The protests seemed to raise tensions and Steven Kruiswijk (Jumbo-Visma) went down heavily in a sudden crash on the straight.
Van Aert stopped to help him, but the Dutch rider was injured. The race continued without him and Kruijswijk was loaded into an ambulance as the crowds cheered him on. His team later said he suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Just seven kilometers later, Jumbo-Visma suffered another crash, this time Vingegaard fell with Tiesj Benoot. The race leader landed on his left shoulder and side but was not seriously injured and gave chase. Vingegaard suffered road rash, but it could have been a lot worse.
There was a moment of panic in the Jumbo-Visma when Vingegaard changed bikes, but he was soon joined by several teammates and back in the peloton before the intermediate sprint and the climb of the Côte des Cammazes.
With the race definitely underway, the other racers waited for Vingegaard. Honoré led Pollitt through the intermediate sprint with Van Aert ever alert and up front to finish third and earn more points for his green jersey.
The two leaders were caught on the climb of the Côte des Cammazes, with Trek-Segafredo riding a heavy pace that immediately hurt the sprinters.
Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost) tried to inspire an attack, but Trek-Segafredo poured on the pressure on the climb, bringing Rutsch back and straddling the peloton to distance some sprint rivals. Their efforts saw off Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExhchange-Jayco) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), among others.
As they neared the top of the Category 3 climb, Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) got on top of the Trek-Segafredo train and danced to take the mountain points and try to forge a winning gap.
However, in the long, gradual descent over the next 20km, the Groenewegen group steadily worked their way back into the peloton.
The two leaders pushed on as the reduced peloton waited until the last to regain their 20-second advantage. With 5 kilometers to go, the duo were in sight on a straight stretch of road and were up to 10 seconds apart. Thomas took off in a desperate attempt to thwart the sprinters.
But all of Thomas’s efforts proved to be in vain as the peloton blew past him under the red kite which meant there was 1km to go.
Trek-Segafredo gave Pedersen a powerful lead but he couldn’t hold off the surge from Van Aert as Philipsen found another gear to overtake them both.
Results provided by FirstCycling (opens in new tab)
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