Philipsen Wins Tour de France 17th Stage, Pogacar Retains Lead

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen won the 17th stage of the 2026 Tour de France on Wednesday, finishing with a comfortable lead ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij at the end of the Alpine stage. Though Tadej Pogacar struggled throughout the race due to a stomach problem he experienced the previous night, he managed to retain the overall lead.

Philipsen achieved a dominant victory in a reduced bunch sprint, aided by a strong lead-out from his former world champion teammate, Mathieu van der Poel. He finished several bike lengths ahead of Schmid and Kooij, both of whom had previously won a stage in this Tour. This victory marked the 11th stage win overall for the 28-year-old Belgian, who secured the sprinters' green points jersey in 2023. Philipsen had come close in several sprint stages earlier in the Tour, finishing five times in the top five before this win.

Additionally, the 50 points awarded for winning the stage brought him within seven points of another former world champion, Dane Mads Pedersen, in the battle for the green jersey. Race leader and defending champion Tadej Pogacar returned home safely in the main peloton, finishing just under nine minutes behind Philipsen.

However, there was concern for Pogacar as his UAE Emirates-XRG teammate Adam Yates, an important mountain lieutenant, faced difficulties during the stage due to his own stomach issues.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)