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In scenes reminiscent of his win in Saint-Amand-Montrond, teammate Mathieu van der Poel again launched a ferocious leadout to deliver Philipsen in perfect position to only have to sprint the final 200 metres to victory as Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) rounded out the podium.
Philipsen's third stage win of the race puts him equal on victories now with the other best sprinter in the race and leader of the points classification, Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) who had a disastrous finish to his stage after crashing through a roundabout with 1.5km to go which took him out of contention for a fourth win.
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Tour de France 2024
series • cycling
series • cycling
Unable to take any of the points on offer at the line, Girmay's misfortune was Philipsen's gain as the Belgian moved to within just 32 points of the green jersey, setting up a tight battle between the two with little opportunities left on offer.
"I'm really happy, definitely after such a team effort," Philipsen said post-stage.
"It's always nice when you can win together, and I think that's exactly what we did today. I was feeling good, had a good rest day and was feeling my form improving during this Tour de France, so felt that if we could line it up today I could go for the win."
Philipsen was all class when asked his thoughts on the green jersey battle following the result, with concern for Girmay's condition post-crash at the front of mind.
"Everything is possible, but he's climbing really well," The Belgian said of his Eritrean rival.
"I just hope he's OK after the crash, because he doesn't deserve to lose like this. The hard stages are yet to come so we just go day-by-day."
In a nervous day for the bunch with high winds and many threats of echelons, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) rode safely into the finish to remain atop the general classification, as did Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease-a-Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), second and third respectively.
The stage was a momentous one for Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) as the final opportunity for him to sprint for a 36th victory at his last ever Tour de France, but the Manxman couldn't quite stay with the leaders and finished 17th.
The Tour de France continues tonight with Stage 17, a 177.8km route that starts from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux before a mountainous finish to the stage at the SuperDevoluy ski resort. Watch the action from 8:30pm AEST on SBS, SBS On Demand and the Tour Tracker app.
