Stage 15th of Tour de France was a rather peculiar one. The melting heat accompanied by the Covid-19 wave has turned the tabled upside down. In an unexpected turn of events, Jasper Philipsen, who finished third in the last year’s Tour in Carcassonne, took the stage win a year later on 17th July 2022.
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The Alpecin-Deceuninck very smartly timed his moves. He was in the sixth place when they approached the last corner before the finish line, but he accelerated and attacked Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), claiming victory.
Mads was squished between Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Jasper Philipsen from the right and left. The sprinter then left behind the green jersey as he dashed past the duo. Jasper said that the stage win came to him at “Almost the right time” and that it has been a “Pretty big relief”:
We [sprinters] had to wait a long time in this Tour, For a lot of the Alps there were a lot of stages without any results for the team, but everybody took all the chances we had, and on Friday [stage 13] we worked really hard for the sprint
He jokingly added:
It was a good chance, but Wout decided differently, and there I have an even more beautiful picture [of the finish].
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While Alpecin-Deceuninck celebrated the win, it was not the best day for Jumbo-Visma. After loosing not one but two important teammates, rimož Roglič and Steven Kruijswijk, The team leader Jonas Vingegaard met with a crash. As soon as he fell down, the rider quickly got back on his seat and continued with the task at hand.
While remembering the horrible event, Vingegaard said to the media:
All I know is Tiesj crashed in front of me and I couldn’t do anything. I just hope that Tiesj is OK. He crashed worse than me
How the team will manage now with loosing two key riders, with the one of the three toughest stages, the Pyrenees, approaching on Tuesday is a mystery in itself.
On the other hand, a heatwave at Carcassonne made things so unbearable, that Tom Pidcock, jumped into a nearby fountain as soon as he finished the 202.5 km track. Although he risked being fine for his actions by the police, yet all he cared about was cooling off.
Also Read: Jumbo-Visma Looses Primož Roglič At Tour De France
Featured Image Via YouTube/ Eurpsport France
