Though he finally won a stage, on Tuesday’s stage 10, the Belgian’s miseries continued as his main lead-out rider, world champion Mathieu van der Poel, was held up by a mass crash with 11.9 km left in the stage and was never able to return to the front of the peloton and aid his teammate. Philipsen seemed to lose his way during the chaotic sprint and finished sixth.
Girmay now leads the green jersey race with 328 points with Philipsen in second at a distant 217 points and Frenchman Anthony Turgis sitting third with 141. With only two flat stages left in the race, only accident, illness or the mountains can keep him from adding another milestone to his already impressive Palmares: the first Black African rider to win a jersey of any kind on a Grand Tour.
“First of all, I would say thank God for giving me a lot of strength and power,” Girmay said after the win. “Without God, we cannot do anything so I’m super happy. Second, I want to say thanks to my teammates. Thank you for everyone, without them I cannot prove I am the fastest.”
He added that he came into the Tour feeling very confident. “From the start of the Tour, I feel like I knew I can do good results if I have the right time and the right wheel. I proved in the last three sprints [that] if I’m in the right position, I am able to win, especially today. We didn’t have any stress. We think the break will arrive, don’t take risk but in the end, when everyone came together, I got on the radio and said I feel good. I’m super happy I can deliver.”
He also made a plea for more diversity in the race, saying: “This year, I’m the only Black rider in the peloton, it’s not nice, to be honest, so I wish there were more Black riders in the peloton.” He added that by having greater diversity, road racing could finally become a true global sport and that he was “super happy to show and deliver so that cycling can be more global.”
A resurgent Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike) finished second in the sprint after nearly crashing into the barrier and being impeded by Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels). Démare finished third, behind van Aert but was later relegated to 67th place for “Deviation from the chosen line that obstructs or endangers another rider or irregular sprint.” New Tour-stage record-holder Mark Cavendish, who finished fifth, was relegated to 68th for the same reason. As a result, Pascal Ackerman (Israel – Premier Tech) was moved up to third and Philipsen to fourth.
It was the second time van Aert has been impeded on this Tour. Philipsen was relegated from second to last in stage 6 for having changed his line and impeding the 2022 Škoda Green Jersey winner.
The crash that impeded van der Poel also ended Primož Roglič’s dream of a Tour de France championship, for this year at least. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader took a hard tumble from his bike when Alexei Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) inexplicably tried to change lanes over some road furniture and fell into the peloton, taking down about a dozen riders.
Roglič quickly remounted but he seemed groggy. Though his entire team rode with him, they continuously lost ground to the hard-charging bunch, which was riding at speeds of up to 70 km/h. The Slovenian crossed the finish line 2:27 behind the winner and sat down in sixth in the GC, 4:42 behind countryman Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), with his chances of even making the podium seriously compromised. As a result, his team announced Friday that the 34-year-old Roglič was dropping out of the Tour. That marks the third time, after 2021 and 2022, that he has abandoned the race following crashes.
Roglič also crashed near the end of Wednesday’s stage 11 but that incident occurred within 3 km of the finish, so he was given the time of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick Step), with whom he’d been riding. But that turned out to be only a temporary reprieve.
Stage 12 Rankings:
1. Biniam Girmay, Intermarché-Wanty
2. Wout van Aert, Visma–Lease a Bike
3. Pascal Ackerman, Israel-Premier Tech
4. Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck
5. Arnaud de Lie, Lotto Dstny
6. Alexander Kristoff, Uno-X Mobility
7. Phil Bauhaus, Bahrain Victorious
8. Bryan Coquard, Cofidis
9. Dylan Groenewegen, Jayco-AlUla
10. Ryan Gibbons, Lidl-Trek
Skoda Green Jersey Standing:
1. Biniam Girmay, Intermarché-Wanty, 328 points
2. Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck, 221 points
3. Anthony Turgis, TotalEnergies, 141 points
4. Jonas Abrahamsen, Uno-X Mobility, 124 points
5. Bryan Coquard, Cofidis 117, points
