‘Enough to make a grown man cry’ – Robbie McEwen reflects on Jasper Philipsen's emotional stage 15 victory

Published 18/07/2022 at 08:45 GMT

There is no Tour de France action on Monday, but the racing resumes on Tuesday as the riders tackle the first climb of the Pyrenees. A titanic tussle is expected between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The Slovenian has fond memories of riding in the mountains, after overcoming Primoz Roglic to win the Tour on the penultimate day in 2020.

'Enough to make a grown man cry' - McEwen understands Philipsen emotion after first Tour stage win

Robbie McEwen said Jasper Philipsen's Stage 15 victory at the Tour de France was "enough to make a grown man cry", as the Belgian triumphed at the end of a dramatic final breakaway.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider overtook Benjamin Thomas in the final 500 metres in a pulsating finish on the road to Carcassone.

“It's enough to make a grown man cry,” McEwen told Eurosport.

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“The evidence is right there and I was just thinking to myself about my first win at the Tour de France.

“It was in the last day of my third tour and I had lots of second and third places like Jasper Phillipsen has, so I can feel that emotion of how special it is.

“I tell you what, no matter how many defeats he's had, now that he's got it, he will feel it was worth the wait.”

The 24-year-old was clearly very emotional himself after finally claiming his first stage victory. Those feelings of elation were in stark contrast to Stage 4 on this year’s tour, as the Belgian celebrated victory following a bunch sprint to the line in Calais, only to discover that Wout van Aert had crossed line first.

'I cannot believe it' - An emotional Philipsen delighted with Stage 15 win

"I know what it's like to lose at the Tour de France," Phillipsen said. "I was close so many times, but that it worked out today is unbelievable, I cannot believe it.

"I felt Wout was coming close, but I also knew the finish line from last year. We got boxed away a bit before the final corner and I knew there was not long to go after the corners from last year, so I knew I had to take up a good position.

"I'm not going to cry on television, it's been a massive search for this victory. We worked really hard and I'm just super proud that we can finally finish it off after a tough Tour.

"We had to wait until Stage 15 with the team and everybody believed it was still possible. I'm super happy.

"I knew I had good legs, but I just had to wait until the right moment and the right opportunity. Today was the day."

There is no Tour de France action on Monday, but the racing resumes on Tuesday as the riders tackle the first climb of the Pyrenees.

A titanic tussle is expected between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The Slovenian has fond memories of riding in the mountains, after overcoming Primoz Roglic to win the Tour on the penultimate day in 2020.

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Stream the Tour de France live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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