Mark Cavendish started and it seemed that this time yes. He took the lead of the pack with lightning speed. The Briton almost knocked the rest of the sprinters out of the wheel. The white line of the goal was approaching. The record trembled, staggered. But then, when the Briton caressed the historic, he saw it as possible, Jasper Philipsen came out from behind again and is intractable. Almost Cavendish. Always Philipsen.
Third sprint in the 2023 Tour and third victory for Philipsen. The Belgian sprinter, who also won the last two of 2022, including the Champs-Élysées, is protecting Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 victories. He dominates the mass arrivals with such superiority that his opponents can hardly cough up.
Alpecin, his team, has studied the train to prepare for the arrival. The last two kilometers entering Bordeaux were manual. Jonas Rickaert led the peloton to the red triangle and there Van der Poel took command, with his power, to increase the speed even more. “Without them, this triplet would never have been possible,” admits Philipsen, dressed in the regular jersey.
Cavendish, who had already won in the wine capital in 2010, was the only one who dared to question the dictatorship of the men in blue. But he stayed 10 meters from glory. Philipsen was only 10 years old when the man from the Isle of Man raised his arms for the first time on the Tour, back in 2008. Now he is one to surpass Merckx. “We would all like to see him win. He is in good condition. He is going to be a difficult opponent ”, predicts the dominator, seeing the progression of the Astana veteran, who goes from less to more: in Bayonne he was sixth, in Nogaro he was fifth and in Bordeaux.
Philipsen joins the list of great sprinters who have won in Bordeaux. There the aforementioned Cavendish, Steels (1999), Zabel (1997 and 1995), Abdujparov (1993) or Jean-Paul van Poppel (1988) prevailed. “I am very proud. If you tell me that a week ago in Bilbao, I’ll tell you that you’re crazy”, says the Belgian, who isn’t even slowed down by the heat. And much less the little belligerence of the escapees. Abrahamsen (UnoX), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Burgaudeau (Total Energies) dropped and left only Guglielmi (Arkéa), the only brave man, on the run.
