Jasper Philipsen wins Tour de France Stage 17, says victory 'costs me several years of my life'

Felix Engelhardt (25) led at the front for a long time, but ultimately it was not enough for the five breakaway riders on the 175-kilometer route from Chambéry to Voiron. The quintet was caught, allowing Alpecin–Premier Tech to set up the sprint for Jasper Philipsen (28). The Belgian impressively won the 17th stage of the Tour de France, celebrating his eleventh overall daily success in the French tour.

Race Summary

59 kilometers before the finish, a sextet broke away, including Engelhardt. The German champion from the Australian team Jayco Alula delivered his best performance in his Tour debut, but the group was not strong enough to reach the finish ahead of the peloton.

In the overall standings, nothing changed as expected. Tadej Pogacar (27/Slovenia) continues to lead by 4 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of Red Bull captain Remco Evenepoel (26/Belgium). Following the dramatic crash exit of Florian Lipowitz (25) on Tuesday, the best-placed German is Pogacar's helper Nils Politt (32) in 73rd place, over three hours behind.

German champion Felix Engelhardt (25/r.) had his best day at the Tour de France on Wednesday. Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes/REUTERS

Engelhardt's Reaction

Speaking on ARD, Engelhardt said: "We did everything right, were in all the decisive groups. I was the smallest candle on the cake in the group. You have to be very clever to play your cards."

The other breakaway riders have already won Tour stages and/or classics, while the Ulm native is more of a classic helper. His teammate Mauro Schmid (26/Switzerland) finished second behind Philipsen, leaving Engelhardt satisfied with the day from a team perspective.

Philipsen's Emotional Victory

Philipsen commented: "It's a rollercoaster of emotions at this Tour. The first twelve days were horror, I didn't find myself. Was it the heat or something else? I don't know. I dedicate the win to the team, which always believed in me. I was disappointed in myself the whole time, angry. This win is costing me a few years of my life. But the guys delivered me superbly at the finish line."

For Philipsen, the focus now shifts to snatching the green sprint jersey from Dane Mads Pedersen (30). The two are separated by only seven points.

Lipowitz Aims for Comeback

This was the first stage without German hope Florian Lipowitz (25). He suffered a bad crash during the individual time trial on Tuesday and had to abandon the race with a broken collarbone. The Swabian from Laichingen has since undergone surgery and hopes to make a comeback still this year.