Philipsen VI of Bourbon

He Tour de France abandoned the Massif Centralwith the emotions of Puy de Dome and of the victory of Pello Bilbao in Issoire in the rear-view mirror, to focus on towards the Jura and the Alpsthe two mountain ranges that will once again provide a martial setting for the battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar from Friday to Sunday. The approaching trip began with a practically flat stage, with only two fourth-category studs, which proposed a favorable profile for a sprint resolution, with all its traditional ingredients. It was a day, therefore, where it was easier to form a getaway to finish it off, just the opposite of what had happened the day before. And that he did not give more worries to the general’s roosters than the menacing fanswhich are something like “the coconut is coming, the coconut is coming”, although then they almost never come, together with the usual risk of falls.

The leak formed early, of course. And it didn’t get anywhere, obviously. The adventurers of the day were Matîs Louvel, Andrey Amador and Daniel Oss, who went down in the same order until the Italian from TotalEnergies, the last survivor, was devoured 13 kilometers from the finish line by the voracity of the peloton. Oss needed more than anyone to show his jersey, because Peter Sagan’s retirement announcement it has been indirectly interpreted as the withdrawal of his inseparable companion. But not. Oss wants to continue on the ointment. And so he claimed it during the Bourbon tour this Thursday.

The ride of the trio, then a duo and finally a unit, alternated on television with aerial images of churches and castles associated with the history of the Royal House of Spain, to the French origin of the Bourbons. We saw, for example, the Château de Bourbon-l’Archambault, in Allier. Or the Château des Ducs de Bourbon, in Montluçon. Or the town of Souvigny, cradle of the family. And of course, the arrival of Moulins, the capital of the Duchy of Bourbon. The noble journey had few surprises, except a hint of fans about fifty kilometers, with the Ineos and the Jumbo in the lead, with more appearance of protecting than provoking. The wind did not get older, as usually happens. Neither did the rain that worsened in some sections of the end. The speed increased as the goal was sniffed. And the musketeers in the last line drew their swords.

The fifth mass arrival of the Tour de France 2023 was the Jasper Philipsen’s fourth win. She has only lost once, and it was because the ending stung up. This time he did not have the luxury squire to launch the packaging, he had to find his life among the rest of the wolves without his faithful Mathieu van der Poel, but with skill and sense of smell he moved from wheel to wheel until Dylan Groenewegen’s final wheel, who he passed by far at the finish line. The Belgian from Alpecin already has four victories in this edition, which rise to six if we add the two from last year. He was Philipsen VI of Bourbon. The king of the sprint.

General ranking

after cyclist	Equipment	Time
1 Jasper Phillipsen	ADC	4h:01:07
2 Dylan Groenewegen	JAY	+00:00
3 phil bauhaus	TBV	+00:00
4 Bryan Coquard	COF	+00:00
5 Mads Pederson	TFS	+00:00
6 alexander kristoff	ONE	+00:00
7 Luca Mozzato	ARK	+00:00
8 peter saga	HAVE	+00:00
9 Wout van Aert	TJV	+00:00
10 sam welsford	DSM	+00:00

after cyclist	Equipment	Time
1 Jonas Vingegaard	TJV	46:34:27
2 Tadej Pogacar	UAD	+00:17
3 Jai Hindley	BOH	+02:40
4 carlos rodriguez	IGD	+04:22
5 Peio Bilbao	TBV	+04:34
6 adam yates	UAD	+04:39
7 Simon Yates	JAY	+04:44
8 thomas pidcock	IGD	+05:26
9 David Gaudú	GFC	+06:01
10 Sepp Kuss	TJV	+06:45