Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had done everything right, surviving the climb with the main group, then sprinting from well back in the bunch, fighting off Alexander Kristoff (Intermarche) and sprinting to what he thought was the win on Stage 4 of the Tour de France.
Philipsen raised in the saddle with a yell of primal joy, celebrating what would have been his first stage win at the world’s biggest race… only it wasn’t. As Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) became level with his Belgian counterpart, he gestured up the road to the figure of Wout van Aert, who had actually won the stage eight seconds earlier in the yellow jersey.
A shame-faced Philipsen faced the media a bit embarrassed after a tremendous ride that was overshadowed by the faux pas.
“I thought we sprinted for the win but then I saw him right in front of me when I crossed the finish line,” said Philipsen. “What a shame. I made a fool of myself. If you raise your hand and you didn’t win.
“For five seconds, maybe less, I thought that I had won. That was nice. Then I saw him and I also heard them laughing behind me. Now I can also laugh with it. It’s the way it is. I have to live with it. It’s a pity.”
Philipsen saw the funnier side of it on social media, and if nothing else, it will serve as motivation for the future when he gets a chance to win a stage.
The 24-year-old moved into fifth in the green jersey standings with the result, but he trails leader van Aert by over a hundred points at this early point in the race for the points classification.
The Tour de France heads to the cobbles for Stage 5, the first time in four years that the peloton has had to navigate the infamous pave featured in Paris-Roubaix. Watch from 9.20pm AEST on the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker, with the SBS television and SBS On Demand broadcast beginning at 9.30pm AEST.
