The sprinters have been waiting for a week. They have been suffering for seven days. One stage through the massif central, another in the Jura and four in the Alps. They have endured, they have endured ports and more ports. And today comes the reward. A flat day for them to finish off, hungry since July 12.
For Philipsen it sure is special to win. Not only because it would be the fifth victory in the 2023 Tour, but also because in Bourg-en-Bresse the last time the French round came the victory went to another Belgian legend, the former world champion Tom Boonen. That day, 16 years ago, Boonen had Óscar Freire and Erik Zabel as rivals. Almost nothing.
So far, no one has been able to overshadow the Alpecin sprinter. Besides, Ewan and Jakobsen have already packed their bags.
There are many teams of the 22 in the Tour that have not yet won and that cannot wait for the sprint either. Especially since there is a very clear dominator of the massive arrivals. Few will collaborate in the pursuit and some escapade can take advantage of that to make things difficult. That was what happened in 2002 when the Norwegian Thor Hushvod surprised.
Be careful, because the two times that the Tour ended in Bourg-en-Bresse and the two winners wore, sooner or later, the rainbow jersey. Land of world champions.
