Philipsen wins stage 17 and reopens a battle for the green jersey that seemed closed

Jasper Philipsen raised his arms again in the Tour de France 2026 after winning the seventeenth stage, contested between Chambéry and Voiron over 174.7 kilometers. The Belgian from Alpecin-Premier Tech completed the enormous work of Mathieu van der Poel and achieved a much-needed victory on a completely unpredictable day, marked by a large breakaway, constant attacks, and a relentless battle for the green jersey.

Jasper Philipsen conquers Voiron after a chaotic finish and reopens the fight for the green jersey

Mauro Schmid was second and Olav Kooij completed the podium of a finish resolved among the survivors of the breakaway. Mads Pedersen, the leader of the points classification, could only finish eighth and sees how Philipsen closes in on the fight for the green jersey.

The general classification saw no changes among the favorites, who now face the decisive alpine triptych.

A frantic start that broke the peloton

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The stage began at a very high pace from the starting gun. The four climbs concentrated in the first half of the route caused an endless succession of attacks, with numerous riders trying to form the break of the day.

Tension was at its peak from the first kilometers. Tom Pidcock and Lenny Martinez were involved in a multiple crash during the fight for the break, although both were able to quickly rejoin the peloton without major consequences.

The terrain also caused an unexpected split among the favorites. Isaac Del Toro was momentarily trapped in a second group along with Tom Pidcock, Mads Pedersen, and Jasper Philipsen, while Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, and Paul Seixas managed to stay at the front. However, the situation was neutralized shortly after, and all the general classification contenders regrouped.

A luxury breakaway

After numerous attempts, a high-level breakaway formed with riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Stuyven, Tiesj Benoot, Quinn Simmons, Matej Mohoric, Egan Bernal, Joshua Tarling, Pablo Castrillo, Einer Rubio, Rick Pluimers, Felix Engelhardt, Guillaume Martin, Clément Braz Afonso, Jai Hindley, and Alex Baudin.

Behind, Decathlon CMA CGM initially tried to control the gap thinking of Olav Kooij's options, although the front group eventually managed to open a sufficient margin to contest the victory.

The race changed again when Mads Pedersen launched one of his usual attacks to connect with the breakaway. The Dane increased the pace with several accelerations and managed to further select the front group, forcing Philipsen to chase for several kilometers.

Stuyven tried solo

After the intermediate sprint, where Pedersen scored the maximum points and Philipsen partially limited the damage, Jasper Stuyven decided to go for the stage with a long-range attack. The Belgian managed to have nearly a minute's advantage and for several kilometers seemed to have real chances of reaching Voiron solo.

However, the presence of four Alpecin-Premier Tech riders in the chasing group allowed for perfect control of the situation. Mathieu van der Poel, Edward Planckaert, and Baptiste Verstrynge protected Philipsen while the other teams took on the work of the chase.

Stuyven was neutralized just three and a half kilometers from the finish.

Van der Poel launches and Philipsen finishes

The small rise before the finish further reduced the leading group, although the main sprinters managed to overcome that last difficulty.

Mathieu van der Poel once again demonstrated why he remains one of the best lead-out men in the peloton. The Dutchman perfectly positioned Philipsen in the last kilometer, and the Belgian did not miss the opportunity.

With a powerful sprint, he clearly surpassed Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij to achieve his first stage victory in this Tour and bring Alpecin-Premier Tech back into the spotlight after several days without a prize.

Mads Pedersen started too early and ended up losing speed in the final meters, finishing outside the top five.

The green jersey is exciting again

Although Pedersen managed to win the intermediate sprint and added a significant number of points, Philipsen's victory allows him to close the gap in the points classification thanks to the 50 points awarded at the finish.

The fight for the green jersey, which seemed practically settled just a few days ago, thus regains interest before the end of the Tour.

Meanwhile, the favorites in the general classification crossed the finish line without differences and reserved their strength for the big alpine stages that will ultimately decide the Tour de France 2026.

Top 10 Tour de France stage 17

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) – 3:41:13
2. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) – same time
3. Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) – same time
4. Lewis Askey (NSN Cycling Team) – same time
5. Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – same time
6. Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ United) – same time
7. Huub Artz (Lotto Intermarché) – same time
8. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) – same time
9. Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) – same time
10. Aaron Gate (XDS Astana Team) – same time

Top 10 general classification after stage 17

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 60:04:17
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 4:32
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 6:51
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 7:11
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 9:22
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 10:14
7. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 12:50
8. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 12:58
9. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – at 14:04
10. Yannis Voisard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – at 24:18