Jasper Philipsen relegated in Tour de France stage 6 sprint, Cavendish fined for drafting team car amid run-in with TV moto

Jasper Philipsen's quest to add to his six career Tour de France stage wins and 2023 green jersey took another blow on Thursday after the Belgian was relegated from second place on the stage 6 sprint into Dijon.

The Belgian shifted his line in the final 150 metres of the 163.5km sprint stage. blocking out Wout van Aert in the process. As he raced along the barriers towards the finish line. Behind him, Van Aert appeared to be going for a gap alongside Philipsen but was forced to slow down and back out of his sprint as a result.

Along with stage winner Mark Cavendish, Philipsen had already been on the receiving end of a warning for his sprint on Wednesday's stage 5, the pair having moved from right to left across the road in the dash for the line.

The only two words Philipsen said in public came in anger soon after he crossed the finish line.

“F*ck!’ he said after slapping a Tour de France race official car beyond the finish line. After taking several swigs from a recovery drink and leaning over his big for a few seconds, he then said “F*ck!” again and banged his handlebars.  

Philipsen soon rode to the Alpecin-Deceuninck team bus but refused to speak to the huge scrum of Dutch-speaking and international media. His partner Melanie Peetermans was allowed to climb on the team bus to console Philipsen but after Christoph Roodhooft came out to speak, the team bus door closed and eventually drove off in an air of disappointment. 

“We got a phone call from the UCI with a message saying he was relegated. There was no other comment. It was just a simple message," Roodhooft told the scrum of media, including Cyclingnews.

"We watched the sprint. It's very clear that the boarding isn't in a straight line. And when Van Aert comes in a bit he also holds back a bit. It all came together. I don't think it's a manoeuvre that justifies the penalty 100%, but there's something to be said for both sides."

Philipsen was relegated to 107th place on stage 6 and handed a 500CHF fine for his actions. He's also been penalised 13 green jersey points as well as losing the points he'd have gained with a second place on the stage. He now lies in fourth place on 85 points, 65 points down on points classification leader Biniam Girmay.

“Our first goal was to have a stage victory," Roodhooft admitted. "Today he did well in the intermediate and then got second in the sprint. He hasn't won, but for green we were on schedule. Now it’s no longer in our hands, it’s fallen apart everywhere. Now we have to wait and see what he can do."

The pressure is mounting on Alpecin-Deceuninck. Last year Philipsen won four stages and the green jersey, winning three times in the opening week. Yet  Roodhooft dismissed talk of pressure.   

"Pressure? Why does he need pressure?" Roodhooft retorted. "He was two times second, for me it was all okay until now. Winning a stage is not easy. I think this is only stage 6 or something…

"From the two chances he had, I don’t think he did too bad. He didn't win but he’s not alone trying to win a sprint stage..."  

Relegations and warnings pepper the Tour's sprint showdowns

The Philipsen relegation is the latest in a string of disciplinary actions levied against various riders across Wednesday's and Thursday's sprint stages. 

The UCI's new 'yellow card' punishment will only be effective from August 1 but on Thursday morning, both Philipsen reportedly and Cavendish received in-person warnings from the race jury over their sprints at the end of stage 5. 

During Wednesday's stage, German sprinter Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was relegated from 16th place for deviating from his line, while Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan) was fined for 'unseemly inappropriate behaviour at the finish and damage to the image of the sport', namely stopping to watch teammate Cavendish winning his record-breaking 35th stage on the big screen.

The race officials appear to be strictly enforcing the rules, warning Cavendish during stage 6 for drafting on the team cars while trying to return to the peloton after a mechanical. He was later handed a 200CHF fine for drafting along with a 40-second time penalty, plus minor UCI points and green jersey points deductions.

The Astana sprinter explained to Peacock following the stage what happened and accused a TV motorbike of interfering with his chase.

"I had a mechanical problem – my chain wrapped and locked under my bottom bracket," Cavendish said. "I started to panic when the TV camera – it's the second time this particular camera's done it – he goes in the middle of the road and stops the convoy coming. That creates – you're out the back.

"A TV camera is there to capture images and not to influence the race, and it's the second time this motorbike's done it. That's when you start to panic when an outside control is influencing the race. It's something you can't prepare for."

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