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The tour de france’s greatest ever sprinters, from pelissier to cavendish, the fast men forever etched into tour de france history.

Mark Cavendish started the Tour de France for the tenth time this year, and with four stage wins reminded everyone of just how good a sprinter he is.

Cavendish was named the Tour’s greatest ever sprinter by L’Equipe in 2012 with no other sprinter winning as many stages of the race as the Manxman – in fact, following his stage six victory in Montauban, the only man with more Tour stage wins than him is the great Eddy Merckx with 34.

Add to that his points classification win in 2011, and the yellow jersey he finally pulled on after stage one of this year’s race, and you can see why L’Equipe afforded Britain’s most successful male professional cyclist such an honour.

But if Cavendish is the greatest ever, how do all the other great sprinters to have raced the Tour de France in its 103 editions compare?

We’ve picked out nine of the greatest fast men ever to take on the Tour. Are there any you would add to the list?

Mark Cavendish (GBR) – 2007 to present

Mark Cavendish made his Tour de France debut in 2007, during which he suffered two crashes and abandoned as the race headed into the mountains. It was an inconspicuous start given what was to follow.

Despite only riding the first 13 stages of the following year’s Tour – due to training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics – Cavendish picked up his first four stage wins in the race before bagging six in 2009 and five apiece in 2010 and 2011.

Riding for the HTC-HighRoad team, he and his lead-out train were simply untouchable at their best as Cavendish bagged the green jersey in 2011, crowning his win with a victory on the Champs-Elysees.

His era of dominance ended thereafter, but – in the jersey of world road race champion – he won three times in his solitary season with Team Sky, twice in his debut year with Omega Pharma-QuickStep and last year went clear into third place on the list of all-time wins thanks to his 26 th career triumph.

And just as he was being written off in some quarters, the Manx Missile  added four more wins to his  palmares in 2016, to go second in that list behind Merckx and pull on the yellow jersey for the first time.

Tour de France stage wins: 30* Tour de France points classification wins: one (2011)

Andre Darrigade (FRA) – 1952 to 1966

Frenchman Andre Darrigade has been dubbed the greatest French sprinter of all time by Raphael Geminiani with his phenomenal speed (and stamina) earning him 22 stage wins in his illustrious career.

Darrigade’s sprinting style meant he could win sprints from far back, often opting to lead out bunch finishes and ‘challenging others to pass him’, according to journalist Rene de Latour.

Darrigade’s sprinting ability didn’t just earn him stage wins either, with him wearing the yellow jersey 16 times in all too – winning the opening stage of the Tour in four consecutive years between 1956 and 1959, and again in 1961.

The Frenchman also twice won the points classification, in 1959 and 1961, and remains one of only six riders to have bagged 20 or more stage wins at the Tour.

Tour de France stage wins: 22 Tour de France points classification wins: two (1959, 1961)

Mario Cipollini (ITA) – 1993 to 1999

Exuberant Italian Mario Cipollini’s sensational sprinting exploits may have been more centred on the Giro d’Italia, but he still found time to win 12 Tour de France stages and spend time in the yellow jersey.

Cipo ’s well-publicised dislike of the mountains meant he never contested the green jersey, and his teams not being invited from 2000 to 2003 – despite him being world champion at the time of the latter race – also didn’t help.

He sits in the Tour record books, however, having won the race’s fastest ever stage in 1999 as part of his post-war record four consecutive stage wins.

But regardless of the bare statistics, few can doubt Cipollini was one of cycling’s greatest ever sprinters, not just at the Tour.

His 42 Giro d’Italia stage wins remain a record, and with his Tour and Vuelta a tally added to that, his career tally stands at 57 Grand Tour stage wins.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: none

Erik Zabel (GER) – 1995 to 2008

Where Cipollini opted not to contest the green jersey at the Tour de France, Erik Zabel monopolised the points classification at the turn of the millennium.

The German won the green jersey six years in a row, from 1996 to 2001, and also celebrated 12 wins in all – picking up two on debut in 1995 and collecting his final victory in 2002.

Like Peter Sagan today, Zabel picked up points with a serious of consistent finishes on the sprint stages and could climb better than his fellow sprinters too.

But where Sagan has struggled to win stages, Zabel had no such problems – no German rider has won more stages, despite Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel closing in fast.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: six (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Freddy Maertens (BEL) – 1972 to 1981

With Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck dominating the Belgian cycling scene, it was going to take somebody pretty special to steal the limelight.

And while Merckx’s achievements on the road remain unparalleled, Maertens at least gave the Belgian faithful a new hero to celebrate – when he was not feuding with the more popular Cannibal at least.

Maertens was primarily a sprinter, but versatile enough to win the 1977 Vuelta a Espana – where he won 13 stages – and his Tour de France record stacks up well too,

Three times he claimed the green jersey, with his 1976 victory arriving courtesy of a record-equalling eight stage wins – five of which were from sprints and three against the clock.

Tour de France stage wins: 16 Tour de France points classification wins: three (1976, 1978, 1981)

René Le Grevès (FRA) – 1933 to 1939

René Le Grevès’ 16 Tour de France stage wins are all the more remarkable when you consider how short his professional career proved to be.

Journalist Jean-Paul Ollivier has dubbed him the Tour’s greatest sprinter, and he was certainly the greatest of the later interwar years – not least between 1934 and 1936 when he collected 14 of those 16 victories.

He was also crowned French champion in 1936, his annus mirabilis as he won six times at that year’s Tour before his star began to wane a little.

Le Grevès’ final stage win came in 1939 before the Tour was cancelled due to the war. The Parisian-born sprinter survived the war but died in 1946 in a skiing accident.

Tour de France stage wins: 16 Tour de France points classification wins: N/A (not run until 1953)

Robbie McEwen (AUS) – 1997 to 2010

Australian fast man Robbie McEwen was the first of his countrymen to win the points classification – something he achieved three times in his career.

McEwen relied on tactical nous and all-out pace rather than a sprint train as such, but that didn’t stop him clocking 12 Tour de France stage wins in all.

His first arrived on the Champs-Elysees in 1999, while his victory in Paris again in 2002 was enough to see him usurp six-time points back-to-back points classification winner Zabel.

He also wore the yellow jersey for a single day in 2004, before recovering from two bad crashes to win a stage and bag his second green jersey.

McEwen’s final stage win in 2007 was all the more remarkable because he recovered from a late crash to return to the bunch and win the kick to the line – proving not only his resilience but his sprinting speed.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: 2002, 2004, 2006

Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) – 1990 to 1997

Uzbekistani sprinting legend Djamolidine Abdoujaparov did not earn the nickname “The Tashkent Terror” for nothing.

Abdoujaparov’s sprinting style was unorthodox to say the least – at worst, it was erratic and dangerous – but it was also clearly effective as he clocked nine stage wins.

Winner of the points classification three times, in 1991, 1993 and 1994, Abdoujaparov claimed the green jersey on the first of those occasions despite a now infamous, high-speed crash during which he hit the barriers on the Champs-Elysees and had to beat the pain barrier to win the stage unaided.

Not all of Abdoujaparov’s victories came from sprints – in fact his last at the Tour, in 1996, was a breakaway in the mountains – but there was no doubting where is best ability lay until his 1997 retirement.

Tour de France stage wins: nine Tour de France points classification wins: 1991, 1993, 1994

Charles Pelissier (FRA) – 1922 to 1939

Former French ‘cross champion turned sprinting extraordinaire Charles Pelissier reached his zenith in the 1930 Tour de France, one year on from his first Tour stage win.

Now, some 86 years on from that 1930 race, there is still no rider who has bettered his eight stage wins – despite Merckx and Maertens both matching it.

Pelissier’s record is all the more incredible when you consider he also finished second on seven occasions that year – there was no green jersey at the time, but you can guarantee the Frenchman would have won by a country mile had there been.

The following year he ‘only’ won five – wearing the yellow jersey for the second time in consecutive years early in the race.

Pelissier won twice more, at the 1935 Tour de France, before at the age of 36 the war curtailed his professional career.

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Tour de France 2022 sprinters: Analysing the form of the fast-men so far

A closer look at the form of the key sprinters at the 2022 Tour de France

Words: Stephen Puddicombe

There's still a long way to go in the Tour de France 2022, but there could be quite a wait until we see the next full-on bunch finish if the sprint teams can't get it together on stage four. Until week two in fact.

Stages two and three in Denmark gave us two sprint showdowns, with two Dutch winners; Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen. Both looked back to their best, while others languished in chaotic finishes or simply didn't have the strength to match them.

Here we'll analyse the form of the sprinters of the Tour so far, and who looks best set to take the victory the next time the peloton reaches a sprint finish.

Fabio Jakobsen

It’s been a tale of two final corners for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl in the sprints so far — the first on stage two, when Yves Lampaert and Michael Mørkøv led the peloton to help deliver Fabio Jakobsen to victory; and the second the following day, when the team once again made it to the decisive bend at the front with Florian Sénéchal and Mørkøv, only for Jakobsen to lose their wheel and fall out of contention.

Fabio Jakobsen celebrates victory on stage two of the 2022 Tour de France (Getty Images)

Despite looking so strong to get into these front positions, the famed Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl lead-out hasn’t been firing on all cylinders come the final metres of the sprints by their own very high standards. Usually so aware and attentive, Mørkøv confessed to not realising that Jakobsen wasn’t on his wheel when he proceeded to lead out the sprint on stage three, and even when Jakobsen won the day before he had to come from a few wheels behind to do so.

>>> Tour de France 2022 route: everything you need to know

The way the Dutchman stormed past the riders ahead of him to take his first ever Tour stage win that day regardless suggests he’s in flying form, and you sense that if Quick-Step can perfect the lead-out, then he’ll be very difficult to beat in the future sprints. 

Dylan Groenewegen

When Dylan Groenewegen abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné last month, having been unceremoniously dropped on all three of the stages he might have hoped to sprint for victory on, the prospects of taking a stage at the Tour de France looked remote. But having struggled so much there, Groenewegen suddenly looked like his old self on stage three, where he produced a lethal acceleration to take his first WorldTour victory since his ban in 2020. 

Dylan Groenewegen sprints to victory on stage three of the 2022 Tour de France  (James Startt)

The flat parcours in Denmark certainly helped his chances, and he’ll have a harder time during the hillier potential sprint stages to come. But BikeExchange-Jayco’s decision to prioritise leading him out for the sprints rather than target the green jersey with Michael Matthews has been justified, and Groenewegen can at last be counted among the world’s elite pure sprinters once again. 

Wout van Aert

Though the rather fanciful notion that all-rounder extraordinaire Wout van Aert could in theory win every stage of the Tour de France has become impossible this year, he is currently on track to finish second-place in every stage. 

Wout van Aert in yellow after stage two of the 2022 Tour de France  (James Startt)

This string of runner-up finishes might be frustrating the Belgian, who dearly wants a stage win to his name, but it does mean he’s well on his way to achieving his target of winning the green jersey. His ability to always be in the mix and position himself every sprint despite the unpredictable rough and tumble of a bunch finish is reminiscent of Peter Sagan during his run of seven victories in that classification, and his grip on the jersey — as well as his chances of a stage win —should be strengthened by the parcours of the more selective sprint stages to come. 

Peter Sagan

Due to the emergence of new stars and his own underwhelming form, Peter Sagan entered this Tour de France with perhaps the least amount of fanfare of any of his nine appearances. But it hasn’t taken him long to be back among the headlines, particularly when he directed an accusatory finger wag towards Wout van Aert after the stage three sprint, followed by his Jose Mourinho-esque ‘I cannot comment” post-race interview.  

Peter Sagan at the start of stage two of the 2022 Tour de France (James Startt)

His form has looked good too, sprinting for sixth in Nyborg and fourth in Sønderborg in the manner in which he used to hoover up points in the points classification. The real test for him will come in the hillier terrain, considering that he was routinely dropped at the recent Tour de Suisse on the kind of climbs he used to relish. If he can, then he’ll be a contender to regain his points classification crown, and a mouth-watering contest between him as the old master against new pretender Van Aert could be on the cards.  

Jasper Philipsen  

Having been selected ahead of Tim Merlier, who won stages in both of his Grand Tour appearances last year, Jasper Philipsen is under pressure to perform for Alpecin-Deceuninck. So far he hasn’t made much of an impression, finishing fifth in Nyborg and third in Sønderborg, but the amount of ground he made up sprinting from far back in the latter suggests the 24-year-old has strong legs. 

He hasn’t been contesting the intermediate sprints, indicating that stage wins are his sole ambition this Tour. If he can position himself better in the future sprints — perhaps with the assistance of the one and only Mathieu van der Poel, whose match was burnt a little early on stage three in a drag race against Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's lead-out a few kilometres from the finish — that feat is certainly attainable. 

Mads Pedersen

More than anything, Mads Pedersen would have dearly loved to have either taken a stage or wore the yellow jersey while still on his home Danish roads. He seriously threatened to do so on stage two when he opened up the sprint and remained at the front until the very last metres, when Van Aert and then Jakobsen edged him out of victory.

Mads Pedersen finishes third on stage two of the 2022 Tour de France (Getty Images)

But while his primary ambition for this year’s race has been left unfulfilled, his ride that day proves he can mix it up with the very best sprinters in a pure bunch sprint. He’ll still be on the hunt for stage wins, and opportunities await not just in the classics specialist-friendly stages, but also the flat sprinter stages. 

Ewan must have felt he was due a break after his string of misfortune recently, but whichever Gods he has displeased are clearly not yet appeased. On stage two he suffered yet another ill-timed mechanical during the sprint, and was then denied a smooth run to the line the following day when he was boxed into the barrier by Peter Sagan.

Caleb Ewan at the 2022 Tour de France (Getty Images)

Still, this constitutes a better start than either of his last two Grand Tours, in which by this point he had already suffered a bad crash. In truth we still don’t know what kind of form he’s in, but the fact he’s been chasing green jersey points at the intermediate sprints suggests he believes himself to be in good nick, and intends to make it all the way to Paris.  

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Brussels Cycling Classic

Criterium du dauphine, uci mtb eliminator world cup - leuven, tour of britain (women), uci mtb leogang austria, dwars door het hageland, tour de suisse, elfstedenronde (exterioo cycling cup) -, baloise belgium tour, tour of slovenie, uci mtb val di sole italy, tour de suisse women, uci mtb crans montana switzerland, tour de l'eurometropole, uci mtb haute savoie france, what you need to know about the 2021 tour de france's eight sprint stages, the 2021 tour de france features eight sprint stages. this is everything you need to know about the bunch kicks and the battle for the green jersey..

For sprinters, there is perhaps only one prize greater than a stage victory in the Tour de France, the green points jersey. This summer, the world's best sprinters will once again descend upon France to treat fans to the most high-stakes pack finishes of the year. 

Join  PRO  to watch the  2021 Tour de France  live and on demand in Canada on FloBikes. Exclusive highlights and content will be available to our worldwide audience!

Peter Sagan , the seven-time winner of the points competition, was considered unbeatable until Sam Bennett dethroned him in 2020. Sagan's versatility and Bennett's power combined with the backing of his Deceuninck – Quick Step team make them the two favorites for the green jersey. 

However, there are no shortage of sprinters to contest stage wins, many of whom may also take a run at the overall points competition. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Alexander Kristoff (UAE Emirates), Arnaud Démare (Groupama FDJ), Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma), and Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), are all heavyweight favorites for the bunch kicks.

The 2021 route will feature eight sprint stages. The first of which arrives on stage three, finishing in Pontivy. Many of the stage opportunities will favor the pure sprinters, giving Sam Bennett a chance to defend his title. After Stage three and four in Brittany, the other flat stages include stage six finish in Chàteauroux, Stage 10 in Valence following the rest day, stage 12 in Nîmes, 13 in Carcassonne, 19 in Libourne, and the traditional grand finale on the Champs-Élysées in Paris for stage 21. Here is our breakdown of each sprint stage.  

Stage 3: Lorient – Pontivy, 182km

The battle for green commences on stage 3 beginning in Lorient, the birthplace of the 2017 King of the Mountain winner, Warren Barguil . However, with a flat parcours favoring the pure sprinters, the French climber will be thoroughly outgunned on his home roads.

The riders embark on the 182 kilometer trek facing 2 category climbs before the run in to the stage finish in Pontivy and the first real test of the points classification. Pontivy is the birthplace of current UCI President David Lappartient, making its Tour debut. 

The first sprint stage of the Tour de France may not be a straightforward day for the peloton. The coastal region of Brittany carries an ever-present risk of crosswinds and foul weather. Teams of sprinters and GC riders alike will be on high alert in the opening stages, attempting to keep their leaders near the front of the race and out of trouble.

Stage 4: Redon – Fougères, 152km

Redon returns to the Tour de France, after a 10-year hiatus hosting a stage finish in 2011 that saw American Tyler Farrar win his first and only Tour stage. The short, 152 kilometer stage is the only part of Brittany yet to be visited by the race. 

While a pack finish is expected, the exposed and technical roads of Brittany will once again make for a stressful approach.

The finish in Fougères boasts the Chateau de Fougères, the largest medieval fortress in all of Europe. After 700km of racing, the Tour bids farewell to Brittany before the first time trial on stage 5. 

Stage 6: Tours – Chàteauroux, 144km

Borrowing well-known roads from Paris-Tours, the winds will likely be the big factor of the day in the final 75 kilometers. The domestiques will have their hands full, protecting their leaders and delivering them to an expected bunch or reduced group sprint. 

The finish in Chàteauroux was the setting of Mark Cavendish ’s first of 30 stage wins at the Tour de France. He would win again at Chàteauroux in 2011. The 1600m finishing straight is tailor made for the pure sprinters, but timing will be everything. 

Stage 10: Albertville – Valence, 186km

After three days racing at altitude, the riders will leave the mountains behind to begin stage 10 in the Olympic city of Albertville, the host city of the 1992 Winter Olympic games. 

Domestiques will once again have a hefty job ahead, protecting their leaders against the winds of the plains in the final 20km before the finish in Valence. 

The regularly hosts both the Tour and Critérium du Dauphiné. Last visited by the Tour in 2018, the 3-time World Champion Peter Sagan took one of his 12 stage wins in Valence, inching out Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare for victory. 

Stage 12: Saint-Paul-Trois-Chàteaux-Nîmes, 161km

The scenic stage 12 follows the Gorges de l’Ardèche, a first for the Tour de France. The sinuous canyon road culminate in what is expected to be a bunch sprint in Nîmes. 

The ‘Pocket Rocket’ Caleb Ewan , was the most recent victor in Nîmes, winning a bunch sprint ahead of Elia Viviani and Dylan Groenewegen in 2019. Alexander Kristoff also notched a stage victory here in 2014. 

Stage 13: Nîmes – Carcassonne, 220km

The peloton departs Nîmes and its Roman arenas, which are considered to be some of the most well-preserved in the world, for another sprint stage. 

Stage 13 sends the peloton due west for a 220 kilometer race that deposits the peloton at the base of the Pyrenees. A similar route was used in the Tour 15 years ago, but in 2021 it has been made 30 kilometers longer.  

Race organizers explained the change at the route presentation in November, following the advice of former riders to avoid traffic furniture. “Safety is our priority,” Race Director Christian Prudhomme said. The citadel and ramps of Carcassonne will provide the backdrop for the finishing sprint.

After the celebrations in Carcassonne, sprinters will hunker down and focus on survival in the upcoming mountain stages.

Stage 19: Mourenx – Libourne, 203km 

Stage 19 begins in Mourenx for the first time in nearly 30. Sprinters that survived the mountains will be rewarded with a flat finish in Libourne as the points classification begins to wrap up. Racing fans will recall Eddy Merckx performance here in 1969, and Jacques Anquetil’s triumphant time trial victory in Libourne in 1957. 

Stage 21: Chatou – Paris Champs-Élysées, 112km

Stage 21 of the Tour de France begins as a celebration for the yellow jersey winner, and finishes in the Super Bowl of bunch sprints.

Chatou will host the start of the Tour's traditional final stage into Paris for the fourth consecutive year in the department of the Yvelines, and will continue doing so until 2023. 

Yvelines is clearly a region that loves cycling. In addition to its commitment to the Tour's iconic 21st stage, Yvelines has hosted the start of Paris-Nice for the past ten years now, and will welcome all cycling disciplines for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

The traditional parade and celebratory beginning of the stage will transition into full blown racing as the peloton flies past the Louvre's iconic glass pyramid en route to the stage's finishing circuits.

Sprint teams get down to business as the pelton enters the eight-laps circuit, which takes riders around the Arc de Triomphe, down the bone-jarring Champs-Élysées, around les Tuileries and the Louvre, across the Place de la Concorde and back to the thrilling sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées to conclude the 108 edition of the Tour de France.

• Mark Cavendish
• Wout van Aert
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Arnaud Demare
• Peter Sagan
• Dylan Groenewegen
• Sam Bennett
• Elia Viviani
• Alexander Kristoff
• Warren Barguil

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Tour de France: Fabio Jakobsen wins crash-marred sprint stage 2 in Nyborg

Wout van Aert takes the yellow jersey

They came to the Tour de France to get Fabio Jakobsen a victory, and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl made that dream come true on a chaotic finale to stage 2. Race leader Yves Lampaert showed himself at the front as the lead-out for Jakobsen and, despite a late surge from Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Jakobsen powered past the green jersey wearer to the victory.

The team's non-selection of last year's green jersey winner Mark Cavendish led to plenty of pre-race polemics, but Jakobsen payed back the team's trust with his first Tour stage win.

"Today is  incroyable . For me, it was a long process step by step. A lot of people helped me along the way. This is to pay them back so they can see it was not for nothing. I'm happy I still enjoy riding the bike and racing and luckily I can still win. It's an amazing day and I'd like to thank all the people that helped me to here," Jakobsen said.

"The team kept me in a good position in front when we exited from the bridge with the right-left combination and then the final straight. I could stay behind Morkov. He dropped me in the wheel of Van Aert. In the last few hundred metres I was on the left next to Sagan, we touched but luckily we stayed upright. There was a final stretch of 150 metres where I could launch and pass the other two.

"When I tell it like this it sounds easy but for sure the legs were in pain. This is what we train for, this is why we race. A stage of the Tour de France is what I've been dreaming about for 15 years."

Van Aert just held off Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and, thanks to the time bonus, moved into the race lead. The Belgian leads the Tour de France by one second over Lampaert, with defending champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in third at eight seconds.

There was mayhem in the closing kilometres with a massive spill blocking the road with 2.2 kilometres to go. The riders would not lose time but several riders limped in minutes after the stage winner, with Pogačar rolling in alone, finishing with two flat tyres, and waving to the crowd safe in the knowledge he would be given the same time as the leaders. 

The crash in the finale was not the only significant fall, as EF Education-EasyPost's GC leader Rigoberto Urán came down after a touch of wheels in the frantic run-up to the Great Belt Bridge with 21km to go and, on the crosswind section of the lengthy span, Lampaert came down in a similar incident two kilometres later.

The maillot jaune was quickly up and running and, with a spell behind the team cars and a slackening of the pace, Lampaert was back in and in shape to lead-out Jakobsen to victory, bringing his miraculous recovery from the 2020 Tour de Pologne near-death crash to a close. It took Urán another 10km to get back on but he also made it in safely.

Of the general classification contenders, Pogačar, and Jumbo-Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič are the best placed at 8, 16 and 17 seconds, respectively, from Van Aert.

How it unfolded

The second stage of the Tour's Grand Départ in Denmark would be the longest of the three stages in Scandinavia, taking in 202km from Roskilde to Nyborg and an expected sprint finish.

Few obstacles stood between the riders and the finish, though three fourth-category climbs in the middle of the stage would provide the race with its first polka dot jersey wearer, and the 18km long Great Belt Bridge inside the final 21km threw up the possibility of crosswind action.

The race got underway a few kilometres late after punctures for Tim Wellens and Adam Yates in the neutral roll-out saw race director Christian Prudhomme hold the flag drop on the first road stage of the 2022 Tour.

When he did drop the flag, however, the first big battle for the breakaway never materialised. Instead, four men jumped away from the peloton in the opening kilometres of the race, with the sprinter's teams quick to block the road behind and let the move ride away.

The B&B Hotels-KTM pairing of Cyril Barthe and Pierre Rolland were joined out front by home favourite Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) and Sven Erik Bystrøm (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert).

Despite the lack of drama early on, the cheers from the massive crowds that lined the roads out of Roskilde weren't dampened, with the sunny skies making it a nice day to spectate as well as go racing – in contrast to Friday's opening time trial.

There was little action to write home about in the first 50km of the stage as the riders headed north-west across the island of Zealand on the way to the bridge and the island of Funen.

Instead, the break was held on a tight leash by the sprint squads, with 1:30 the maximum advantage the four men out front could extract from the situation. Things pepped up once the break hit the day's first climb, the fourth-category Côte d'Asnæs Indelukke.

There, Barthe pushed a hard pace before dropping back only for teammate Rolland to be unable to do anything as Cort took it up and pushed on with Bystrøm. The Dane duly took the first KOM point of the Tour as the B&B Hotels-KTM duo were surprisingly dropped.

They wouldn't make it back for the next climb of the Côte d'Høve Stræde, nor for the third and final hill of the day, the Côte de Kårup Strandbakke. The pair languished 15 seconds behind as Cort out-sprinted Bystrøm on the second climb and lay 40 seconds down when Cort took his third point of the day soon after.

Cort raised his arms in the air in celebration as he crossed the top, the first polka dot jersey of the race in the bag as the Danish fans cheered him on.

He and Bystrøm headed into the final 100km with a three minute lead on the peloton, while Barthe and Rolland were brought back by the peloton after a fruitless 100km at the head of the race.

The intermediate sprint at 75km to go was next on the docket for the riders, marking the point at which they would turn south and head along the coast towards the bridge and the stage finale.

On the approach to the sprint, the breakaway's gap tumbled as the peloton sped up as the wind blew ominously across the road. Bystrøm led Cort across the line uncontested, and just over 30 seconds later it was Caleb Ewan who led the peloton across the line, grabbing 15 points ahead of Wout van Aert's 13 and Peter Sagan's 11.

A block headwind kept the peloton from catching the two leaders who continued to dangle out front until Bystrøm left Cort behind with 60km to go.

Bystrøm continued to fly the blue and neon yellow flag ahead of the bunch until the headwind proved too much and the peloton swept past with a vicious surge just before a turn into the crosswind with 31.2km to go.

Nerves heading into the Great Belt Bridge spelled disaster for Rigoberto Urán, who crashed and was left behind with 21km to go. The peloton was in full flight and the incident split a few echelons out the back as the race headed onto the 18km-long span.

The nerves led to chaos with a crash bringing down the maillot jaune with 19.3km to go. The strong wind and respect for the leader led to a lull in the pace, with Lampaert glued to the bumper of the team cars until his teammates dropped back to pace him to the front.

The officials blocked the Urán chase group from using the team cars, and he was a minute behind for the second half of the bridge as the race turned into a headwind, allowing the chase to gain ground. They made it to the convoy with 10.7km to go and Urán safely back in the fold, albeit minus a packet of matches.

Bob Jungels crashed in a turn but the AG2R rider was the only one to crash there, but only metres later, with 2.3km to go, there was a much larger crash involving Ineos Grenadiers and dozens of others.

The spill did not disrupt the sprinters, however, and Jakobsen had a clean run into the line, coming from behind to edge out Van Aert and Pedersen.

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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.

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Tour de France average speed: How fast are riders at the Tour?

How fast do professional riders do the lap around France?

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The general trend at the Tour de France , since its start in 1903, is that the speed of the riders is going up.

This has happened due to multiple reasons. Mainly it is due to the quality of kit getting better and better every year as science and technology become more and more involved in the sport.

>>> Tour de France facts: stats from the world’s biggest bike race

Bikes and kit becoming as aerodynamic as it is possible to be along with new materials that are faster through the air than human skin itself have changed bike racing hugely in recent years.

On the other side of this, some of the average speeds in past Tours have potentially been due to leading riders having a little extra help than just aero kit and fast rolling tyres.

You won't be surprised to know that the fastest Tour de France on record belongs to a certain Lance Armstrong .

The American former rider had all seven of his Tour titles taken away from him after it was exposed that had doped during all his victories.

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He completed the 2005 race with an amazing average speed of 41.7km/h, which is over one km/h faster than the modern day riders who ride with much faster kit.

>>> Tour de France bikes: Who’s riding what in 2020?

On the flip side, the slowest ever Tour was in 1919, after World War One. The race was won by Belgian Firmin Lambot with an average speed of 24.1km/h.

In the last 10 years the pace hasn't differed too much, staying around the 39 - 40km/h mark, but it does look to be steadily increasing as the technology and training means that riders can go faster than ever before.

The fastest ride in the last 10 years goes to Chris Froome 's last overall victory in 2017.

The race only had three summit finishes and multiple flatter stages and a lot of long descents along with two time trials, which explains the higher than normal speed.

The last two editions of the race have both been around 200km shorter than the 2017 race.

Tour de France average speed (last 11 editions)

2009, Alberto Contador : 40.03km/h

2010, Andy Schleck : 39.59km/h

2011, Cadel Evans : 39.79km/h

2012, Bradley Wiggins : 39.93km/h

2013, Chris Froome: 40.68km/h

2014, Vincenzo Nibali : 40.68km/h

2015, Chris Froome: 39.64km/h

2016, Chris Froome: 39.63km/h

2017, Chris Froome: 41.00km/h

2018, Geraint Thomas : 40.23km/h

2019, Egan Bernal: 40.58km/h

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Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!

I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.

It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.

After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.

When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.

My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.

New Lightweight wheels that cost as much as a WorldTour bike, Giro fever continues and a '70s saddle makes a comeback

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Preview: Tour de France. World's best climbers and sprinters go head to head in a seasonal climax

From the 1st to the 24th of July the peloton will be in the roads of France, Denmark and Switzerland for the 109th edition of the Tour de France . The most iconic, popular and one of the most important races for most of the riders and teams, who will be fighting for meaningful wins over the course of three weeks.

Over the course of the three weeks there will be several classifications that the riders will be fighting for. The General Classification will see the race's best stage-racers go head to head on every single stage as they attempt to take time on each other - specially in the mountains, as will the Youth Classification contenders. In the Points Classification, the sprinters will go head to head in the bunch sprints, aswell as the intermediate sprints spread throughout the 19 road stages. As for the King of the Mountain Classification, it will be decided in the race's highest mountains, toughest Alpine and Pyrenean passes between those who go over them first.

You can check the profile and details of every stage here , the updated startlist with all the names expected to be in the race here , and the prize money that will be distributed between all teams here .

General Classification battle

The preliminary startlist will see general classification contenders as follows: Ben O'Connor, Rigoberto Urán, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Jakob Fuglsang, Michael Woods, Giulio Ciccone, Louis Meintjes, Daniel Martínez, Adam Yates, Geraint Thomas, Aleksandr Vlasov, Alexey Lutsenko, Primoz Roglic , Jonas Vingegaard , Tadej Pogacar , David Gaudu, Guillaume Martin, Enric Mas and Nairo Quintana.

Important Stages

The fifth stage is a highly antecipated day. A short stage with only 153 kilometers on the menu, however 19.4 of those will take place over cobbled roads. 11 sectors to be exact, all of which in the second half of the stage. It will be an important day for the overall classification, as the tension will rise to an all-time high and crucial losses can be had if something goes wrong.

Stage seven will have the riders race into the Vosges. As is traditional the Planche des Belles Filles (7Km; 8.7%) will be the first real summit finish of the race. It will be the first opportunity for the climbers to make differences in their terrain, and will be a good gauge to measure who will be capable of fighting for the win and podium in the end.

Stage 11 will see the first big high-mountain stage. The menu isn’t complicated, with the Lacets de Montvernier (3.4Km; 8.2%), Col du Telegraphe (11.9Km; 7.1%) and Col du Galibier (17.7Km; 6.9%) taking the riders through high altitude. It will be a brutal day, as the riders will descend into Briançon and climb the Col du Granon (11.3Km; 9.2%) for the highest stage finish in the race.

Stage 12 will be the final in the Alps, as a hattrick of ascents will mark the day. The riders will early on climb the Col du Galibier (23Km; 5.1%) via the opposite direction, followed by the Col de la Croix the Fer (29Km; 5.2%), and the return of the Alpe d’Huez (13.8Km; 7.9%) for the stage finish.

Stage 17 will have a pan-flat first half, and a very hard second half. A very short stage with only 129 kilometers on the menu, however featuring the Col d’Aspin (12Km; 6.5%), the Hourquette d’Ancizan (8.2Km; 5%) and the Col de Val Louron-Azet (10.7Km; 7.7%) before the final climb. That will be into Peyragudes (8Km; 7.2%), where more gaps will be established, with the finale in the brutal ramps of the local airfield.

The final mountain day comes right after. The formula is exactly the same as the day before, with a flat first half, short distances and a combination of similar climbs in the second half with a summit finish. Here however they will be longer, with the Col de Aubisque (16.4Km; 7.1%) opening things up for the day, the Col de Spandelles (10.3Km; 8.3%) dealing further damage and then the summit finish at Hautacam (13.6Km; 7.8%) being the last ascent where the climbers can do real differences.

The final time-trial of the race will come on it’s penultimate day. The 40.7-kilometer individual challenge will be ridden between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadour, a rolling time-trial which is far from ideal for the specialists, with a hilly finale. Rocamadour is no stranger to high-level pro races, and the final hilltop is a familiar sight, albeit with added importance on this day.

Cycling UpToDate prediction:

**** Tadej Pogacar

*** Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard

** Daniel Martínez, Aleksandr Vlasov, Enric Mas

* Jack Haig, Geraint Thomas, Jakob Fuglsang, Adam Yates

Points Classification battle

As for the sprinters who will be hunting stages and the green jersey: Magnus Cort Nielsen, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen, Alexander Kristoff, Caleb Ewan, Wout van Aert , Fabio Jakobsen , Bryan Coquard, Dylan Groenewegen, Michael Matthews and Peter Sagan.

The two first bunch sprints will come in Denmark, after the initial time-trial. The cities of Nyborg and Sønderborg will host the finales, although tension will be sky-high and the second stage is particularly vulnerable to crosswinds.

In the fourth day of racing the peloton returns to familiar French roads. This will be a day for the sprintes, however it includes quite a few hilltops throughout the day that may spark some surprises in northwestern France.

Stage 13 will have the peloton travel from the Alps into the Massif Central. A day for the sprinters, likely, however a lot can happen and besides the possibility of a breakaway succeeding, the several rolling hills will provide platforms for attacks to surge.

The final day of the second week will see the riders travel south, from Rodez into Carcassonne. It is another day designed for the sprinters however with plenty obstacles that may see a surprise pop out.

Stage 19 will be a transition day, as the riders head north for a flat stage. It is a day on paper for the sprinters, however this late into the race it will always be more complicated to chase down breakaways.

And as traditional, the final day will feature soft distances and the classic final circuit inside of Paris, where the riders will finish the race off within the Champs-Élysées.

CyclingUpToDate prediction:

**** Wout van Aert

*** Fabio Jakobsen, Mads Pedersen

** Jasper Philipsen, Michael Matthews, Peter Sagan

* Caleb Ewan, Alexander Kristoff, Bryan Coquard, Dylan Groenewegen

Tour de France 2022 Stage Analysis | Profiles Tour de France 2022

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UNDER_ARTICLE

Sat 01 Jun 2024

Fri 31 May 2024

Tour de France 2024 Rider Power Rankings

Less than a month out from the start of the men’s Tour de France, we ranked the top yellow jersey threats in the peloton.

This is the latest edition of Bicycling’ s Power Rankings for the 2024 Men’s Tour de France, where we rank the top contenders leading up to July’s race. This continuously updated list will give you an in-depth look at the riders that have the best shot to stand atop the podium at the end of the Tour—and how they’re performing in the races leading up to July.

These rankings will be constantly refreshed, so you can see who’s up and who’s down on the road to the 2024 Tour de France.

The 2024 Tour de France was expected to bring together the sport’s four best grand tour riders: Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), winner of the last two Tours de France; Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tours de France and the recent Giro d’Italia; Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), winner of the 2022 Vuelta a España; and Slovenia’s Primož Roglič (BORA-hansgrohe), a 3-time winner of the Vuelta and the champion at last year’s Giro d’Italia.

Each rider was taking a different route to the Tour de France, with each choosing to mix race days with extended periods of time spent at training camps. And while some of their paths crossed at select races throughout the first few months of the season, they weren’t expected to all race together until the Tour. For fans, it was a dream scenario.

But the dream became a nightmare in early-April after a scary, high-speed crash during Stage 4 of Spain’s Tour of the Basque Country took down several riders, including Vingegaard, Roglič, and Evenepoel. Two of them–Vingegaard and Evenepoel–suffered serious injuries, and all of them had their Tour preparations interrupted.

That was almost eight weeks ago, and they’re all back on their bikes and training again. But with the Tour de France beginning in Florence, Italy just four weeks from Saturday, one big question still remains: Will Vingegaard–who suffered the worst injuries of the three–be on the starting line, and if he is will he have the form he needs to defend his title? This storyline is the one we’ll be watching the most in the month leading up to the start of the Tour, but it’s not the only one.

We’re also excited to see if Pogačar can become the first rider since 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season (spoiler alert: we think he can). And last but definitely not least, we’re eager to learn which other contenders–if any–will be ready to challenge him.

So with four weeks left before the Tour’s “Grand Depart,” here’s our latest–and perhaps most optimistic–Tour de France contender Power Ranking.

Tadej Pogačar

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Previous Ranking : 1

Race Days : 31

Race Wins : 14

Best Result : 1st-place, General Classification - Giro d’Italia

Next Race: Tour de France, June 29-July 21

With about four weeks until the start of the Tour de France, there are still no questions about who the Tour’s top contender is. Pogačar just wrapped-up a three-week training camp in Italy. You may have heard it–it’s called the Giro d’Italia.

We’re kidding, right? Well, not really. Pog absolutely dominated the Italian grand tour, winning the maglia rosa by almost ten minutes over the next-closest rider on the Giro’s General Classification. Along the way he won six stages–finished second or third on three more–and won the Giro’s King of the Mountains prize. But more importantly, he finished the race healthy and reasonably fresh for a rider who just won a three-week grand tour. 

He only crashed once–near the end of Stage 2 when he flatted and his front wheel slipped out from him. It was a minor fall, and Pogačar quickly quickly got back on his bike and promptly won the stage. Otherwise, he escaped the race injury-free.

He also stayed healthy, which–considering the terrible weather that the race encountered at the beginning of the third week–was another blessing for the Slovenian. Staying safe and healthy during a three-week is often a greater challenge than overcoming the competition, and Pog came through that battle unscathed. 

And speaking of the competition, between a relatively gentle course and a rather weak (sorry, guys) start list, Pogačar was never really pushed to defend his lead. With the exception of the Giro’s two individual time trials, he basically won the race with a series of quick, uphill accelerations that no one else could follow. Then he simply rode a steady tempo to the finish line, extending his advantage as he pedaled. 

Pogačar’s near-perfect Giro–plus the fact that he raced minimally in the months before it–means that he probably ended the Giro stronger than he was when he started it. That’s bad news for the men he’ll be racing against at the Tour de France. 

With the Giro behind him, Pogačar will rest for a week and then head to a ski station in the French Alps for nineteen days of altitude training. He won’t race before the Tour de France, but with a grand tour in his legs, he doesn’t need to. 

At this rate, we’ll be eating some humble pie in late-July. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have much faith in his chances of winning the Giro and the Tour in the same season. But given the way things are shaping up, now we’ll be more surprised if he doesn’t. 

Primož Roglič

Read the complete analysis.

Previous Ranking : 2

Race Days : 11

Race Wins : 1

Best Result : 1st-place, Stage 1 - Tour of the Basque Country

Next Race : Critérium du Dauphiné, June 2-10

Roglič also went down in the crash that took out Vingegaard and Evenepoel, and like the other two, he abandoned the race immediately. But after a series of medical examinations, BORA-hansgrohe reported that the 34-year-old suffered no major injuries. Compared to the others, the Slovenian dodged bullet.

He was initially expected to take part in Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège last week, but the team changed plans to give him extra time to heal. That was a good call, as the weather in the Belgian Ardennes was atrocious that week, and the risk of getting sick or worse–another crash–just wasn’t worth it. In fact, he probably made more gains by training than he would have by racing. 

The Slovenian spent the past five weeks training–which was always the plan–and now he’s heading to the Critérium du Dauphiné–which starts this Sunday–for his last big test before the Tour de France.

The Dauphiné is essentially an 8-day mini-Tour de France with several stages that mimic key stages from the upcoming Tour. It’s also early enough in the month that riders have time for one more small block of training before the start of the Tour. That makes it a popular dress rehearsal for Tour contenders, and Roglič will be going head-to-head with several of his rivals. And it’s a race he knows well: he won it in 2022. 

That’s why anything worse than a top-5 finish would be bad news for the Slovenian. He doesn’t need to win it; after all, the Dauphiné ends four weeks before the start of the Tour, and he needs to be at his best in July not June. 

But a poor performance against many of the men he’ll be racing against at the Tour will raise some eyebrows, putting even more pressure on a 34-year-old rider who might be staring down his last reasonable chance to win the Tour de France. 

Remco Evenepoel

Previous Ranking : 3

Race Days : 17

Race Wins : 4

Best Result : 2nd place, General Classification - Paris-Nice

Another victim of the crash at the Tour of the Basque Country, Evenepoel broke his right clavicle and scapula in Spain and had surgery a few days later in Belgium to address the broken collarbone. The injury meant the Belgian missed a chance to become only the fourth rider to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège three years in a row. 

But his injuries have healed and he’s been on his bike for several weeks. He even attended a recent training camp with his team in Sierra Nevada. So he’s back on schedule in terms of his training for this summer’s Tour de France. 

This sets Evenepoel up for an important showdown with Roglič–and others–at the Critérium du Dauphiné–the Belgian’s last race before the Tour de France–and the pressure he’ll face there will be intense. 

The winner of the 2022 Vuelta a España, Evenepoel is Belgium’s best chance to win a Tour in several decades (a Belgian hasn’t won the Tour since 1976), so he already carries the weight of a nation of passionate cycling fans on his shoulders.

So there’s really no way for the 24-year-old to come out of the Dauphiné without facing even more pressure: if races well–let’s say, finishes on the podium–everyone will start talking about him as if he’s bound to win the Tour. But a bad Dauphiné will fire up the naysayers, putting the wrong kind of pressure on a rider who sometimes struggles to handle adversity. It’s an unenviable position, but that’s life as when you’re Belgium’s first grand tour winner since 1978. 

Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez

Previous Rankings : 4 (Bernal) and 5 (Rodríguez)

Race Days : 28 (Bernal) and 24 (Rodríguez)

Race Wins : 0 (Bernal) and 2 (Rodríguez)

Best Result : 3rd place, General Classficiation - Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Bernal) and 1st-place, General Classification - Tour de Romandie (Rodríguez)

Next Race : Tour de France, June 29-July 21 (Bernal) and Critérium du Dauphiné, June 2-10 (Rodríguez) 

We’re hedging our bets with this one because–at the moment–we can’t find a reason to put one ahead of the other. But that could change after the Critérium du Dauphiné, which Rodríguez will be starting this weekend.

The Spaniard flew a bit under the radar at last year’s Dauphiné, but in hindsight he shouldn’t have: he finished ninth overall against some tough competition and won the white jersey as the race’s Best Young Rider. The then-22-year-old went on to finish fifth overall and win a stage at the Tour de France. Perhaps we should have seen it coming.

But Rodríguez won’t sneak up on anyone this year, and his performance will indicate if he’s ready to become a true Tour de France podium contender. If he is, he’ll likely bump Bernal–who last raced in late-April and is currently training in Colombia–down a notch in the team’s leadership hierarchy. And that might not be a bad thing: we like the chances of “Bernal the Dark Horse” better than those of “Bernal the Pre-Tour Podium Contender.” 

Jonas Vingegaard

Previous Ranking : Under Consideration

Race Days : 14

Race Wins : 7

Best Result : 1st-place, General Classification - Tirreno-Adriatico

Next Race : TBD

Given some recent news, we’re optimistically moving the Tour’s two-time defending champion back into our top-5—well, 6 if you consider the INEOS tandem above. 

One of the worst victims of the crash at the Tour of the Basque Country, Vingegaard lay motionless along the side of the road for a few minutes before finally being placed in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, where tests revealed a broken collarbone and a few cracked ribs. Later the team shared that Vingegaard also suffered a pulmonary contusion and a collapsed lung. He stayed in the hospital for 12 days. 

At first, Visma-Lease a Bike wouldn’t discuss the Dane’s chances of racing the Tour de France. But now they are–albeit in uncertain terms–because Vingegaard is back on his bike and training. He was first spotted on a bike path in Denmark, and this week, he arrived in Tignes, France for altitude training camp.

At the Giro d’Italia last week, his team manager Richard Plugge confirmed that Vingegaard has indeed resumed training but would only head to the Tour if he is 100 percent ready to defend his title. And he didn’t sound as if the possibility of the Dane being ready in time was as far-fetched as it seemed a month ago.  

He won’t ride the Dauphiné, but his teammates racing it will meet him in Tignes afterwards. Things are clearly going better than they were in April for Vingegaard, and we think there’s about a 50% chance that he starts the Tour de France. 

Vingegaard started the season in dominating fashion. In fact, he was so strong that some wondered how he could possibly maintain such a high level of fitness all the way through the Tour. Assuming he’s able to get anywhere close to the form he had before the crash–and he starts the Tour–he’s good enough to break back into our Power Ranking. It’s an optimistic take, but we’re going with it–for now.

Under Consideration

If Vingegaard is ultimately unable to start the Tour de France, American Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease a Bike) –the winner of last year’s Vuelta a España–will likely lead the team instead. Kuss hasn’t raced since the Tour of the Basque Country, but he’s starting the Critérium du Dauphiné this Sunday. With three summit finishes to close out the race, it’s the perfect chance for Kuss to assert himself as a Tour de France contender.

Spain’s Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) is also riding the Dauphiné and likely racing to win it. The 21-year-old finished third at the 2022 Vuelta a España and is set to start his first Tour de France this summer. He’ll be riding in support of Pogačar, but the Spaniard could be a contender himself–both as a domestique (UAE put two riders on the podium last year) and as a back-up plan (should something happen to Pog).

Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) has been training since his last race, April’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The 31-year-old is racing the Tour de Suisse–which takes place one week after the Dauphiné–as his final race before the Tour. And he’ll be racing with a chip on his shoulder: the reigning Olympic champion was not selected to represent his country at the games this summer. Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers)–who won Stage 1 at the Giro d’Italia–was chosen instead.

Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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Tour de France 2023: Jasper Philipsen storms to first sprint stage win as Wout Van Aert edged out again

Updated 03/07/2023 at 18:31 GMT

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen benefitted from a flawless leadout from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Mathieu van der Poel to win Stage 3 of the Tour de France in Bayonne. Philipsen slightly closed the door on compatriot Wout van Aert before holding off Phil Bauhaus and Caleb Ewan. Stream the 2023 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia Donne live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk.

Watch highlights of Stage 3 of the Tour de France as Philipsen wins fierce sprint

Van der Poel crosses line in Roubaix Velodrome to seal dominant win

• Stage 3 recap: Philipsen outlasts Van Aert to take win

'Oh my life!' - Philipsen edges intense sprint finish on Stage 3 in Bayonne

POWLESS EXTENDS POLKA DOT LEAD, PICHON’S PINCH-ME MOMENT

Alpecin take risks to deliver philipsen to line.

'There are no presents' - Philipsen reacts to Stage 3 victory

Philipsen 'begged' Van der Poel for help, thanked team-mate after Milano-Sanremo win

17/03/2024 at 10:17

Pogacar says he 'stuck to' the plan & 'couldn't do much better' after third place at Milano-Sanremo

16/03/2024 at 22:20

Crazy finale sees Philipsen sprint away from Pogacar and Van der Poel to win Milano-Sanremo

17/03/2024 at 10:09

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