After tempers cooled, Jasper Philipsen responds to his ‘disqualification’ at the Tour de France

Not disqualified, then disqualified, then not disqualified. As if the chaos of the mass sprint in Nevers alone wasn’t enough for Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin-Premier Tech. The jury ultimately reversed its decision to demote the Belgian in the results, and he responded via an audio message from his team.

Philipsen put in a strong sprint, but fell just short of preventing Soren Waerenskjold from winning. The Belgian finished in third place, but after the race, news suddenly broke that he had been disqualified. This was due to an incident with a rider from Picnic PostNL and, prior to that, a minor collision with Biniam Girmay, the Roodhooft brothers reported later.

However, these were not sufficient to actually demote Philipsen, so the jury admitted its mistake: Philipsen was allowed to keep his third-place finish. Once tempers had cooled, Alpecin-Premier Tech shared Philipsen’s response.

"We actually came away with a positive feeling. For the first time in this Tour, my legs felt really good again, so I was satisfied with my own performance. It was just the finish of the sprint that was really bizarre. I don’t think anyone expected the peloton to come to a complete standstill 400 meters from the finish line just to look at each other. Søren Wærenskjold took full advantage of that and held on brilliantly until the finish.”

“For us, this is obviously a major missed opportunity. We’re therefore disappointed that we couldn’t give it our all to fight for the win. On the other hand, I’m especially glad that I’m finally feeling good again. The first ten days of the Tour were a real struggle; I just couldn’t find the right form or get my legs going. Now I feel like things are starting to click. That’s positive, even though, of course, a lot of opportunities have already slipped away. We’re just taking it day by day now.'

"That was an extra disappointment, especially since I wasn't really sure what I'd done wrong. It was a frantic sprint, as it almost always is in the Tour. At one point, there was indeed contact with a rider from Picnic PostNL, but that was simply because the speed dropped dramatically in the last 400 meters."

“The riders behind us were closing in much faster. Of course, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, so I couldn’t see exactly who was right behind me. I was very disappointed by the demotion, but I’m glad the jury reconsidered its decision. To me, that also shows that I didn’t do anything on purpose or wrong.”

"No, I actually don't know anything about that. I didn't speak with the jury myself; I think Christoph (Roodhooft) did. So I don't know exactly what was said or what the exact reason was."

"Anyway, the most important thing is that third place is now a sure thing. It's not a victory—and the disappointment about that remains—but the Tour is still a long way off, and we'll keep fighting every day."