Belgian Jasper Philipsen did his thing again in the 111th edition of the Tour de France, this time coming out victorious in stage 13 of the French round by winning the sprint duel with Belgian Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), who came in second.
The Alpecin – Deceuninck sprinter took the win after 165.3 kilometers between Agen and Pau. In third position came German Pascal Ackermann (Israel – Premier Tech) and leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) reported in 9th place.
“I got caught in the wind, but I was able to recover. I’m happy with the win and the feeling. It wasn’t the best start, but I already have two wins. I want more, but we will go day by day”, said Philipsen at the end of the stage.
The best Colombian of the day was Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious) in 35th position, then came Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in 65th place, both with the same time as the winner. Meanwhile, Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) arrived more than 13 minutes behind Philipsen.
As for the general classification, there were no substantial changes and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) remained in command with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) escorting him at 1:06. The provisional podium was completed by Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) at 1:14.
It was expected to be a quiet partial, waiting for the decisive mountainous days in the Pyrenees this weekend, and ended up being a crazy day, with a frantic start, caused by a breakaway of 22 riders including Adam Yates (8th overall) which forced to work hard the group of favorites, especially Visma | Lease a Bike.
Then the dreaded crosswinds appeared, cutting the bunch into several pieces, where several pure sprinters like Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team), were isolated in intermediate groups.
To finish with the chaotic day, in the definition there was a fall, next to the fences 500 meters from the end, which cut much of the peloton, leaving only about 20 riders disputing the sprint, which ended in an endless straight with the victory of Philipsen.
The Grand Bouclé will continue this Saturday with stage 14, a 193.5-kilometer mountainous stage starting in Pau and finishing in Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet, which includes three mountain prizes, two of special category and one of second category.
Tour de France (2.UWT)
Results Stage 13 | Agen – Pau (165,3 km)
| 1 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin – Deceuninck | 3:23:09 |
| 2 | Wout van Aert | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 3 | Pascal Ackermann | Israel – Premier Tech | ,, |
| 4 | Biniam Girmay | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 5 | Nikias Arndt | Bahrain – Victorious | ,, |
| 6 | Tim Wellens | UAE Team Emirates | ,, |
| 7 | Clément Russo | Groupama – FDJ | ,, |
| 8 | Bryan Coquard | Cofidis | ,, |
| 9 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates | ,, |
| 10 | Søren Waerenskjold | Uno-X Mobility | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates | 52:40:58 |
| 2 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:06 |
| 3 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:14 |
| 4 | João Almeida | UAE Team Emirates | 4:20 |
| 5 | Carlos Rodríguez | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:40 |
| 6 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | 5:38 |
| 7 | Adam Yates | UAE Team Emirates | 6:59 |
| 8 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl – Trek | 7:36 |
| 9 | Derek Gee | Israel – Premier Tech | 7:54 |
| 10 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 8:56 |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico