Belgian Jasper Philipsen finally claimed victory in this year’s Tour de France when he won the 10th stage with a textbook sprint on Tuesday.
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after an uneventful day as the peloton gears up for a tricky mountain stage in the Massif Central on Wednesday.
Philipsen, who won four stages on the world’s biggest race last year, benefited from a perfect lead-out by Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate and world champion Mathieu van der Poel to prevail after 187.3-km (116 miles) from Orleans.
Eritrean Biniam Girmay, who has already won two stages in this edition, took second place with German Pascal Ackermann coming home third.
The peloton stayed compact throughout the day through a few rain showers but everyone stayed quiet after Monday’s rest day.
Agitation came in the final five kilometres with the sprinters’ teams looking to get the best position and Alpecin-Deceuninck did the best job.
Van der Poel crushed the pedals with 300 metres to go, leaving Philipsen to finish it off comfortably for his seventh career win on the Tour.
It was a big relief for the 26 year-old, whose best result was a second place since the start in Florence.
“We came on the Tour de France with a strong leadout train and it paid off today. The mark is checked now we can continue the Tour with more confidence,” Philipsen said.
“We just had to keep believing, but every time you waste an opportunity, it’s gone, and chances are limited, sometimes the breakway goes all the way.
“Last week was not our week and we intended on starting this week with a win,” added Philipsen, who praised Van der Poel for his hard work in the finale.
“Mathieu is a really strong guy. When he can show his power and play his part there aren’t many riders who can emulate him. Having the world champion as your lead-out guy is fantastic.”
The only bad news for Philipsen is that he did not regain much ground on Girmay as his rival stayed firmly in control of the points classification.
Girmay has 267 points to Philipsen’s 195.