Mark Cavendish foiled in bid for history as Jasper Philipsen claims victory in Bordeaux sprint at 2023 Tour de France

ByFelix Lowe

Updated 07/07/2023 at 16:44 GMT

Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen denied Britain’s Mark Cavendish a fairytale win in Bordeaux by powering to his third victory in Stage 7. Cavendish struck out for what would have been a record-breaking 35th win but a late surge of pace saw Philipsen power past the Manx Missile to complete a hat-trick in the opening week of the Tour, leaving a disappointed Cav to rue a missed opportunity.

Sixteen years to the day after his Tour de France debut in London, Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) came so close to an historic 35th stage win on the world’s biggest bike race.

On a hectic finale alongside the Garonne river in Bordeaux, the road opened up for Cavendish, who came from deep with one of his trademark turns of pace and was able to get the jump on the in-form Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

But Philipsen showed just why he is the man to beat in bunch sprints at this year’s Tour, the Belgian reacting fast to power past Cavendish and complete a stunning hat-trick of wins in a near-flawless opening week for the 25-year-old.

Tour de France

Pogacar and Vollering star in top 10 riders of 2023 - but who gets top spot?

01/01/2024 at 11:01

Philipsen was only 13 when Cavendish won on the streets of Bordeaux on the occasion of the Tour's last visit to the capital of southwest France in 2010 – and even he admitted afterwards that he was rooting for his 38-year-old adversary.

“[Cavendish] was really strong and I would also have loved to see him win – I think everyone would,” Philipsen said. “For sure, he will keep on trying. He’s up there and in good condition, so it will be hard.”

Eritrean debutant Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) took third place ahead of Italy’s Luca Mozzato (Arkea-Samsic) and Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla).

There was no joy, however, for Australia’s Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) or the Dutch European champion Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) who both finished well down after a frustrating end to the 170km stage through the Landes and Gironde regions of France.

For a third sprint stage running, Philipsen benefited from a peerless leadout from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team – a factor he stressed was decisive in his latest triumph.

Philipsen said: “Without my team it wouldn’t be possible to get three stage wins – I’m very proud of them, I’m super happy. I still had Jonas [Rickaert] and Mathieu [van der Poel] on the final straight. I was always in a good wheel and I didn’t have to do a big effort before I launched and that’s how we won.”

By contrast, Cavendish had to freelance much of the closing moments of the stage – although he did find the wheel of his Astana leadout man, Cees Bol, just in time for the crescendo, which played out over narrow roads and even a short section of cobbles.

Cavendish admitted to being “bitterly disappointed” with his second place and blamed his loss on gearing problems after he pulled the trigger.

‘I am bitterly disappointed, majorly disappointed’ - Cavendish laments gearing issue

“I was in a quite good position even though I was far back. I was okay in where I wanted to be,” he said. “It was a long, straight finish and Cees was moving me up at speed into the last kilometre. I was on the right wheels and I kicked a little early – although probably about the same place as I did in 2010.

“Once I kicked, my gears jumped from the 11 to the 12 and I had to sit down. Cadence whacked up, then I went back to the 11 and I tried to stand up again, but it went back to 12, so I needed to sit down. There was nothing I could do except hope.

“I’m bitterly disappointed – really, majorly disappointed – but we keep on trying. You can see how much the boys have improved. I’m happy and sorry I can’t be a bit more positive about it, but I’m just disappointed.”

• Tour de France Stage 7 recap: Heartbreak for Cavendish as Philipsen strikes again

With just one small climb coming 35km from the finish, Stage 7 was always odds-on to end in a sprint. Indeed, even after four riders shot clear at the gun, it was not long before only one man remained on the nose of the race.

Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) all dropped back to the peloton after receiving team orders to sit up, leaving Simon Guglielmi (Arkea-Samsic) to plough a long and lonely furrow out ahead on his own for well over 100km.

The Frenchman quickly build up a maximum lead of over seven minutes before the sprinters’ teams combined to see his lead slashed to just one minute at the intermediate sprint, where Girmay tested his legs by outkicking Philipsen to the line.

‘Ready to threaten’ - Girmay comes fast and late to win Intermediate Sprint

Some slight crosswinds after the sprint provided a launch pad for French duo Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroen) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) to zip clear of the pack. They soon joined forces with Guglielmi who, on that fourth-category climb, was first to lose touch.

The plucky duo pushed on but never enjoyed a lead of much more than a minute over the pack, with Peters next to throw in the towel before Latour was swept up with just 3.5km remaining.

By this point, Alpecin-Deceuninck had wrested control of the peloton as it negotiated a series of roundabouts and narrow intersections on the technical approach to the finish.

Cavendish looked like he wasn’t even going to play a role in the finish but the veteran sprinter suddenly appeared from deep on the home straight.

Such was his turn of pace that even Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby cried out in celebration of what would have been a record-breaking 35th win.

‘Heartbreak on the line’ - Philipsen storms home to deny Cavendish in Stage 7 of 2023 Tour de France

But green jersey Philipsen, emerging from the wheel of Van der Poel, showed that he will take some beating on this Tour – the Belgian benefiting from Cavendish’s gearing issues to complete a hat-trick in just seven days.

A day of relative rest in the yellow jersey battle resulted in no changes in the general classification, with Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) retaining his 25-second lead over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

The duo are likely to lock horns on Sunday’s mountaintop finish on the mythical Puy de Dome. Before then, it’s a day for the punchy sprinters and breakaway specialists with the 200km Stage 9 from Libourne to Limoges.

- - -

Stream the 2023 Tour de France and Giro d'Italia Donne live and on-demand on discovery+ and eurosport.com

Tour de France

Roglic: Tour de France not an obsession, but my responsibility to go for it

18/10/2023 at 12:09

Tour de France

discovery+ and Eurosport break streaming records for Tour de France coverage

27/07/2023 at 14:07

Tour de France

Vingegaard has 'little way to go' before Merckx comparisons – McEwen

25/07/2023 at 16:44