Tour de France 2023 stage 7 LIVE: Result and winner as Jasper Philipsen pips Mark Cavendish in Bordeaux
The Astana rider will be among the contenders as the peloton heads for Bordeaux
Jasper Philipsen won a dramatic sprint in the final metres of stage 7 of the Tour de France as he edged past Mark Cavendish in Bordeaux to stop the Brit earning a record breaking 35th stage win on Tour.
A long, flat stage left many riders in contention as Simon Guglielmi headed off on his own in a breakaway and never looked comfortable in that role.
For most of the day the general classification teams, including Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo Visma, took the time to rest up after a brutal few days in the mountains.
When the peloton finally hit Bordeaux the sprinters burst into action with Philipsen taking on an early attack 800 metres from the line. He left Caleb Ewan behind only for Cavendish to make a move on the outside and get the lead with 100m to go. Philipsen, however, was too savvy. He dropped onto Cavendish’s wheel and swept past the 38-year-old in the final few metres to win the stage and leave the Brit slumped over the handlebars is heartbreak.
Relive all the action from stage seven below:
Tour de France stage 6 result
Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning attack to win stage six on the summit finish at Cauterets and land a psychological blow in his duel with reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard.
But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey from the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley, and leads Pogacar in the general classification by 25 seconds.
It is set up to be a classic Tour de France.
Tour de France 2023 stage 7 preview: Route map and profile of 145km from Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux
The 2023 Tour de France erupted in the Pyrenees with a slugfest between the major general classification contenders in the mountains.
Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning attack to win stage six on the summit finish at Cauterets and land a psychological blow in his duel with reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard. But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey from the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley, and leads Pogacar in the general classification by 25 seconds. It is set up to be a classic Tour de France.
There could well be a thrilling and closely fought fight for the overall win, but that can wait: this is a day for those podium hunters to take a well-earned break from the cut and thrust at the front and let the sprinters take the floor. Stage seven is one of very few sprint opportunities left in the race, and that means that while the GC contenders will be recuperating as much as possible, there will be plenty of stress among the sprint teams as they jostle to win the stage.
Tour de France stage 7 preview: Cavendish eyes fresh chance in Bordeaux sprint
The sprinters will hope for another opportunity at this tight and technical finish while general classification contenders look to recover from explosive days in the Pyrenees
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