"For five seconds I thought I had won" - Heartbreak for Jasper Philipsen, who draws nearer to Tour de France win

Jasper Philipsen was in tears last year at Champs-Élysées after finishing in the podium for the sixth time without a win. This year he came to the Tour de France with the specific goal of getting a stage win, and for a few seconds the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider thought he had acheived it.

“For five seconds I thought I had won. It will have been nice images, but I would not have wanted it that way," Philipsen told Wielerflits after the stage. He crossed the line with his arms in the air, having assumed he won after finishing first in the bunch sprint that rode behind Wout van Aert into the finish line in Calais. "I didn't know he was in the front and didn't hear it on the radio. Too bad, because I thought I was riding for the win."

Philipsen was close enough to the front after the final ascent that he managed to comfortably ride into the reduced peloton, and had the legs to sprint unlike for example Fabio Jakobsen who survived but could only ride into 13th place. Alpecin worked to chase down the lone escapee, however Philipsen was unaware: "The sprint was good, but unfortunately it was not for the win. That Kristoff also thought he was riding for the win? I was the one who crossed the finish line first after Wout and was celebrating, so now I'm feeling ashamed," he explained.

“We thought it was going to be a sprint. I didn't expect someone to ride off alone. The disappointment is great now. I'm making a fool of myself, but that's how it is now," he concluded. Philipsen has shown the form though, and he will still have several opportunities to take a win during the Tour de France.