Controversy surrounding the Belgian top sprinter Jasper Philipsen: The 28-year-old had initially been demoted following his third-place finish on the eleventh stage of the Tour de France. Shortly afterwards, the jury reversed its decision – and upheld an appeal lodged by his team. Philipsen, who has had a poor Tour so far, thus returned to third place in the stage classification.
Philipsen said he had been very disappointed by the demotion. “Because I didn’t know exactly what was supposed to have happened during the sprint. Obviously it was a hectic sprint – as it always is at the Tour de France,” he said. At one point, he felt he had made contact with another rider. “I didn’t do anything on purpose or do anything wrong.” He was very happy with the revised decision.
A tour that has so far been unsuccessful
The ten-time Tour stage winner finished fifth on both the fifth and seventh stages. He then went on to finish fourth once more. He said he had really struggled during the first part of the Tour. Now his legs were feeling better, he said.
“I’m glad we were able to discuss this together and that the demotion and the yellow card were rescinded,” Philipsen’s team manager, Christoph Roodhooft, was quoted as saying by the Belgian website “Sporza”. According to the report, Roodhooft went to the jury van to seek an explanation for the disqualification.
Søren Wærenskjold from Norway celebrated his first stage victory in Nevers after the 161.3-kilometre stage between Vichy and Nevers in central France. The Dutchman Olav Kooij finished second. Pascal Ackermann was the highest-placed German, finishing tenth.
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