Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck avoided a crash in the final moments of Stage 13 on Friday to edge out compatriot Wout van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike to win his second stage of the 2024 Tour de France.
Today’s stage was a flat 102.5-mile ride from Agen to Pau, setting up the sprinters for success before the race heads for the mountainous stages of the Pyrenees next. However, the final kilometer of the race was disrupted by a crash and subsequent pile-up that took out many riders in the sprint finish, including top contender Arnaud De Lie of Belgium and Lotto-Dstny.
Van Aert’s Visma-Lease a Bike teammates appeared to set him up perfectly to seize today’s win, but flawless timing from Philipsen cemented the win for Alpecin-Deceuninck.
“We pushed hard from the start and we never slowed down. The crosswinds livened up the entire stage,” Philipsen said after his victory.
Pascal Ackermann of Israel-Premier Tech and Germany recorded another third-place finish. Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty retained his green jersey as leader of the points classification after his fourth-place finish today. The Eritrean is having a breakout Tour de France performance, posting three stage wins so far, including yesterday’s Stage 12 victory.
Philipsen’s win today is his second stage victory of this Tour, following a challenging start. It also marks his eighth career Tour de France stage win.
“Today I had my best feelings since the start of the Tour,” Philipsen said. “We didn’t start in the best way but we’ve turned things around in our favor. But we always want more. We will see day-by-day how far this will take us.”
Tadej Pogačar also managed to steer clear of the crash to finish in ninth place and maintain his one-minute and six-second lead over white jersey wearer Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-QuickStep and Belgium.
“Coming into the last few kilometers, my teammates put me in a good position and kept me safe into the finish,” Pogačar said. “I was not planning to contest the sprint, and when I saw how dangerous it was becoming I just took it easy to the line.”
Primož Roglič did not show at the start line after suffering injuries from a crash during yesterday’s Stage 12, Team Red Bull- BORA-hansgrohe announced this morning. The Slovenian had previously occupied fourth place in the general classification rankings.
Spain’s Juan Ayuso, who had been in ninth place overall, also withdrew from today’s stage due to a positive COVID-19 result, leaving Pogačar without the support of his top teammate.
“It is a bit of a blow for us, as we were expecting him to be one of the key guys for the mountains,” Pogačar said of Ayuso’s exit. “As a team, I believe we can be strong even with one guy less.”
Here’s a full look at the 2024 Tour de France standings after 13 days of riding.
Tour de France Stage 13 results
TOUR DE FRANCE: Recap, results and standings after Stage 12
Tour de France general classification standings after Stage 13
Tour de France jersey standings after Stage 13
Yellow (general classification): Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
Green (points classification): Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty)
Polka dot (mountains classification): Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
White (young rider classification): Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)
Yellow numbers (teams classification): UAE Team Emirates
Golden numbers (combativity award): Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility)
Tour de France Stage 14: How to watch, schedule, distance
Date: Saturday, July 13, 2024
Location: Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet (France)
Distance: 94.4 miles (152 km)
Type: Mountain stage
Streaming: Peacock, FuboTV
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