"This could only increase the aggressiveness for the next sprints" - Jose De Cauwer feels Jasper Philipsen has been harshly punished at Tour de France
Cycling
Not for the first time, Jasper Philipsen's sprint was the subject of much controversy on stage 6 at the 2024 Tour de France. This time though, the race jury took action, relegating the Belgian, who'd initially crossed the line in 2nd. Not all are in agreement with the decision however.
Analysing the final sprint for Sporza, Belgian cycling expert Jose De Cauwer admits he can see why Philipsen would feel harshly treated by the race jury. "Wout van Aert passes Philipsen, but never gets past him. Philipsen is riding a bit faster at that moment. Does Van Aert not dare?" De Cauwer begins his assessment. "He only stops his legs a bit later."
In fact, De Cauwer believes Philipsen's relegation was more due to the controversy of previous sprints than any actual danger in the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter's move for the line in Dijon on stage 6. "It is a very tough decision that they take away his second place. And with that, almost the green jersey. This costs him thirty points. Valuable points. Girmay now has those thirty points and that makes a world of difference," explains the Sporza analyst. "This could only increase the aggressiveness for the next sprints."
"Actually, you should have drawn that line as a jury on Wednesday. But they didn't. And now they are drawing it. It's an accumulation of events. While that really shouldn't be allowed," continues De Cauwer. "You should never take the day before into account in your decision. You should not use offside in a previous match to whistle today. But I can ultimately agree with it. It was a 50-50 decision."
Finally however, De Cauwer shared a message of congratulations for the eventual stage winner, Team Jayco AlUla's Dutch national champion, Dylan Groenewegen. "I think it's great. He's been in good shape for a few weeks. A bit like the new Groenewegen. He uses a bit of Arnaud De Lie as a lead-out. He can light a candle for him. But congratulations, a great victory."
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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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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Jasper Philipsen was relegated from his 2nd place. Yes, he was faster than Wout imo and he closed the door very smoothly on him but I still think it was the right decision by the commisaires. 👍🏻 He plays too often with fire. 📽️ @Domestique___ #TDF2024
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