Philipsen wins the sprint of the 16th stage of the Tour de France 2024

The script with which the second week of the Tour de France 2024 began was repeated, and after the rest day, the cyclists decided to take an extra one in a long flat stage that had no more sporting interest than watching a new mass sprint. The sprint went uncontested to Jasper Philipsen, who now has three victories.

Mathieu van der Poel leads Jasper Philipsen to another victory

The third week of the Tour de France 2024 began with a completely flat stage of 188 kilometers between Gruissan and Nimes, which, in view of the remaining stages, was surely the last opportunity for victory for the sprinters.

There was a lot of toughness in the remaining stages, which, like 7 days ago, caused the peloton to take the day in complete relaxation on a route where there were no attempts to break away. Only the acceleration before the intermediate sprint, after which the French cyclist from TotalEnergies, Thomas Gachignard, took advantage to start and give some visibility to his team, added a bit of excitement to a stage that confirmed the stereotype of taking a nap while watching the Tour de France on television.

With just 10 kilometers to go, the race began to wake up and the pace accelerated in preparation for the sprint. The arrival in Nimes, although the approach was on wide streets, became a maze in the last three kilometers as the peloton had to navigate through several tricky roundabouts.

At one of these roundabouts, just 1.5 kilometers from the finish, Biniam Girmay crashed, taking him out of the fight for the stage. Fortunately, he got back on his bike and pedaled in with little difficulty other than the typical bruises. Remember that to win the green jersey, which he practically has secured, the rider must finish his participation in the Tour de France.

With one kilometer to go, Uno-X led the group, and despite Apecin-Deceunink being well organized, they struggled to catch up due to the strong pace set by the Norwegians. Finally, they managed to reach the front at the right moment, and with 500 meters to go, Mathieu van der Poel revved up the engines to secure Jasper Philipsen's victory, a triumph that he achieved with more than a bike's length advantage and allows him to equal Tadej Pogacar and Biniam Girmay as the top winners of the Tour de France 2024 with three stage wins each.

Stage 16 Classification

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4h11'27''
2. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +00''
3. Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) +00''
4. Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +00''
5. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +00''
6. Pascal Ackermann (Israel-PremierTech) +00''
7. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) +00''
8. Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) +00''
9. Ryan Bibbons (Lidl-Trek) +00''
10. Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +00''

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 66h07'51''
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +3'09''
3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) +5'19''
4. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +10'54''
5. Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) +11'21''
6. Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) +11'27''
7. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +13'38''
8. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +15'48''
9. Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) +16'12''
10. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) +16'32''