UPDATE: Jasper Philipsen reinstated to Tour de France Stage 11 podium after jury reverses relegation
CyclingWednesday, 15 July 2026 at 18:36
Jasper Philipsen has been reinstated to third place on Stage 11 of the 2026 Tour de France after the race jury reversed its decision to relegate the Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter.
The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider initially completed the podium behind Soren Waerenskjold and Olav Kooij, only for the race jury to remove him from third after reviewing the contact between the pair.
Philipsen therefore lost a valuable result on a day when he had been attempting to revive his challenge for the green jersey. He began the stage fourth in the points classification, 62 points behind Mads Pedersen.
The punishment also continued a controversial record in bunch finishes, with Philipsen having previously been relegated at both the Tour de France and UAE Tour.
Philipsen loses Nevers podium after Bittner incident
Waerenskjold surprised the established favourites by launching a long sprint and holding off Kooij to claim his first Tour de France stage victory. Philipsen crossed the line third after contact with Bittner during the fight for position. The race jury subsequently relegated the Belgian, denying him both the podium place and its accompanying points.
It was a particularly costly decision in the context of the green jersey competition. Pedersen finished outside the top 10, while Biniam Girmay had initially taken sixth, giving Philipsen an opportunity to make significant ground on both riders.
Instead, his relegation further damaged a points classification campaign which had already been undermined by a succession of missed opportunities. Despite repeatedly receiving strong support from Mathieu van der Poel and the Alpecin-Premier Tech lead-out, Philipsen remained without a stage victory after 11 days of racing.
Previous sprint controversies return to focus
Philipsen faced criticism during the 2023 Tour after squeezing Biniam Girmay towards the barriers in Bordeaux. He later moved across Pascal Eenkhoorn as the Dutchman attempted to attack during Stage 18, although neither incident resulted in relegation.
An official punishment followed on Stage 6 of the 2024 Tour. Philipsen crossed the line second in Dijon but was relegated after deviating from his line and closing the available space to Wout van Aert, forcing the Visma rider to interrupt his sprint.
Philipsen was sanctioned again on the opening stage of the 2025 UAE Tour, where another second place was removed after the commissaires ruled that he had deviated from his line.
The Nevers decision added a third relegation in little more than two years and another Tour de France sanction to Philipsen’s record. Rather than closing on Pedersen with a podium finish, he left Stage 11 further removed from the battle for green and still searching for his first victory of the race.
UPDATE
Alpecin-Premier Tech challenged the decision after reviewing footage of the sprint and asked the race jury to explain the relegation. “Jasper was relegated for two manoeuvres,” Roodhooft told HLN. “He was involved in both, but they were not caused by his actions. We talked about it. The jury had its opinion and we had ours. We then watched the footage several times, and afterwards they admitted their mistake.”
The jury withdrew the relegation and restored Philipsen to third place behind Waerenskjold and Kooij, returning the corresponding points to the Belgian. “It was important for the points, but also for the other riders in the sprint,” Roodhooft said. “It wasn’t right and they recognised that. I particularly appreciate that they admitted their mistake. It would have been easy to maintain their position, but they didn’t.”
Philipsen therefore retained his Stage 11 podium, while the reversed decision was removed from his record as an official sprinting sanction.
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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- When you sprint as dangerously as Jasper does, you lose the benefit of the doubtCrashjames15-07-2026
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- Rasch succeeded in making it into a rider safety vs UCI issue. Congrats.
Rafionain-Glas15-07-2026 - Norway is having quite the year. Not as remarkable if the reason for yesterday was in preparation for today, still kudos for beating the big expected names.Mistermaumau15-07-2026
- When Froome won 3 in a row and "only" came in 3rd in his 4th, he was similarly just a hint less than his usual self. Maybe Vingegaard did the Giro at a time when he still had the drive to do it. It sure feels like there's a good reason he needs time as a sane human being, away from the sport and with his family. It's similar to what Pogačar says after big wins, "first, recovery and some time away." I respect that mindset immensely.RidesHills15-07-2026
- I'm pretty convinced that they're on something, as well, but what they're on is legal. Bonkers levels of sugar during races. Altitude training. Weird natural drinks to help with recovery. Their own riders say that it's nothing different from any other team (and Pogačar is a genetic freak).RidesHills15-07-2026
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La raison du déclassement de Jasper Philipsen est probablement le contact avec le lanceur de Pavel Bittner #TDF2026
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