AFTER securing top-10 finishes in four out of the five early stages of the Tour de France, Belgian Jasper Philipsen had a long wait as the sport’s climbers and puncheurs took over for tough stages in the Vosges, the Alps and the Massif Central before he and his fellow sprinters were in with a chance of a stage win again. 

The opportunity arrived with yesterday’s stage 15 in the searing heat of south-western France, and he seized it in a close finish with fellow-countryman Wout van Aert and Dane Mads Pedersen, with the now-veteran Peter Sagan just behind in fourth spot.

The 200km road from Rodez to Carcassonne was eventful, with mishaps befalling overall race leader Jonas Vingegaard and his Jumbo Visma team even before the off: former joint team leader turned super domestique Primoz Roglic had to abandon the race, eventually capitulating to injuries sustained on stage five, and, once out on the road, Steven Kruiswijk was carted off in an ambulance with suspected broken bones  and then fellow workhorse Tiejs Benoot and Vingegaard himself hit the deck hard in a further crash. 

Nevertheless, the Dane went into today’s rest day having maintained his healthy two-plus minutes’ lead over his nearest challengers, Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and Wales’s Geraint Thomas. With a week to go, it remains to be seen if his weakened team can offer him the support he will need to make it through the Pyrenees and onward to Paris in the yellow leader’s jersey.