"Luckily we didn't fall. The fences came close and I nearly hit the people hanging over them" - Wout van Aert incident with Jasper Philipsen in stage 3 finale at the Tour de France
Cycling
It was disappointment for the third straight day for Wout van Aert as he was once again made to wait for a potential Tour de France stage win. After the finish, the race jury launched an inquest against stage winner, Jasper Philipsen. Now, van Aert explains why.
"I started the sprint on the right side of Jasper. We were sprinting at the same height for a bit, but at some point I hit him. Then I also touched the audience on the other side. As a result, I lost my momentum a bit and I don't get around to sprinting in the last meters," he recapped in a post-stage interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.
"Luckily we didn't fall. The fences came close and I nearly hit the people hanging over them. Then it is difficult to sprint," he continues before referencing just why the race jury felt the need to launch an inquest into the finish of the stage.
"I assume that the jury will look at all the images carefully and make the right decision. I also have little to gain from it, since a few other riders finished before me," he says. Has van Aert marked stage 4 as another potential stage win? "I ticked every stage," he concludes with a smile.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇫🇷 #TDF2023 💬 "Gelukkig ben ik heel gebleven. Dat is het allerbelangrijkste." - Wout van Aert Lees meer in ons verslag! ✍🏼⤵️
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