TOUR DE FRANCE 2023 | STAGE 7 | MONT-DE-MARSAN > BORDEAUX
Jasper Philipsen won the third bunch sprint of the 110th Tour de France, making it three out of three as he deprived Mark Cavendish from the record-breaking 35th stage victory of his career. It’s his fifth win in two years. The Belgian is definitely the current dominating sprinter. He also extended his lead in the points classification whereas Jonas Vingegaard retained the overall lead.
GUGLIELMI, POOR LONESOME COWBOY
The start of stage 7 was given to 172 riders at 13.23. Simon Guglielmi (Arkea-Samsic) was first on the attack right after flag off. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) caught up with him but gave up one after each other, leaving the Frenchman alone in the lead at km 4. Guglielmi’s maximum advantage was 7’15’’ at km 18, after which Alpecin-Deceunink and Lotto-Dstny got organised at the helm of the peloton. Guglielmi won the intermediate sprint, followed in that order by Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).
LATOUR AND PETERS TAKE OVER
79km before the end, Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroën) attacked from the bunch. Five kilometres further, they caught up with the lone leader. The time difference with the peloton was 50’’ with 50km to go. Guglielmi couldn’t hold the pace in the côte de Béguey (cat. 4) where Latour passed first with 39km remaining. Guglielmi was logically awarded the combativity prize. Latour and Peters forged on until they got reeled in the streets of Bordeaux, Peters with 6km to go and Latour 3.5km before the finish line.
SIMON GUGLIELMI: “IT’S BEEN A GOOD DAY”
“When Mathieu Burgaudeau told me “I leave you alone”, I thought it would be a long day alone with long straight lines, however I enjoyed it a lot. The two riders who caught up with me were fresh. They hurt my legs quite hard. I was already in the breakaway on day 1 and I was hoping to get the combativity prize. To have it today it’s super! It was good day at the end.”
PHILIPSEN PIPS CAVENDISH ON THE LINE
Alpecin-Deceuninck gave Philipsen a very good lead out in the last 2km. Mark Cavendish (Astana) tried his luck by launching from far out but the Belgian wasn’t impressed and had enough left in the tank for a last kick that makes him a triple stage winner this year. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) rounded out the podium as he reached the top 3 for the first time at the Tour de France.
JASPER PHILIPSEN: “EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE CAVENDISH WIN…”
“We can be proud of our team’s achievement. Without them, it would have been impossible to get three stage wins. We worked together, found each other in the finale to organise the lead out. I’m proud and happy. I was lucky to have Jonas [Rickaert] and Mathieu [van der Poel] with me in the final kilometres. I didn’t have to do any big effort before my final sprint. So far, it’s a dream start of the Tour de France. We will try to go on, looking to Paris also. Mark [Cavendish] was strong. I would have loved to see him win, like everybody. For sure he will keep trying. He is in form and in good condition. From now on, keeping the green jersey all the way to Paris is another goal for me. Yet we will see: for now, we just enjoy the moment.”
TADEJ POGACAR: “IT GOT WARMER AND HARDER WITH HARDER”
“It was a quite nice day until the last 50 kilometres, when we started to go full gas and it got warmer and harder. But it was a pretty good day overall. The morale is very good. For sure we have a good chance [of getting a good GC result]. But there is still a long way to go until Paris. We need to keep our legs as they were yesterday.”
NEILSON POWLESS: “WE WANT TO KEEP THIS JERSEY UNTIL PARIS”
“My day was really nice. I tried to take it as easy as possible and stay of trouble as long as it was esasy to stay in the wheel. I didn’t suffer to much because of the heat. We have been lucky this year compared to the previous years. Sitting on wheels, relaxing, it has not been too bad. Sports directors don’t tell me what they want me to do until the morning. They want to keep it as secret… And we want to keep this jersey until Paris.”
JONAS VINGEGAARD: “I PREFER TO BE IN THE LEAD THAN BEHIND”
“It has been quite an easy stage, with only one man going in the breakaway. It has been a bit long, but I’m happy with the heat. I like the heat. In last year’s stages, my best stages were the warmest ones. I am feeling better after every stage and my morale is quite high. Had you told me before the Tour de France that I was going to be in the lead after seven stages, with a 25” gap on Pogacar, I almost wouldn’t have believed it. I feel satisfied and happy that I am already in the yellow jersey. It’s always better to be at the front than behind. And the stages that suit me better are still to come…”
