The 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday between Clermont-Ferrand and Moulins represented one of the last chances for sprinters to shine before entering the Alps. The three climbs on the program on the 179.8 km course in the Allier did not affect the progress of the race and it was Jasper Philipsen who won ahead of Dylan Groenewegen and Phil Bahaus.
The route of the 11th stage
Credit: official Tour de France website
Even deprived of his luxury pilot fish Mathieu van der Poel, left behind in the final, Philipsen won with a comfortable margin ahead of the Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen and the German Phil Bauhaus. It is already the fourth victory for the Belgian, wearing the green jersey, since the start on July 1 in Bilbao, after his successes in Bayonne, Nogaro and Bordeaux. “It’s an incredible Tour for me. Everything works like clockwork, I’m happy with my form and I managed to avoid the pitfalls in the final”, commented the winner.
“Yes, I can also win without Mathieu (van der Poel). He makes things easier for me. There I had to find the right wheel. I took Groenewegen’s, he was the one who started, c was perfect,” he added. The peloton arrived grouped in the streets of Moulins, soaked by the storm, after a much quieter stage than the previous days. Three men, Andrey Amador, Matis Louvel and Daniel Oss, animated the day starting at the front. Daniel Oss, the last survivor, was caught 13 km from the finish after a 161 km breakaway.