Jasper Philipsen Wins Tour Stage 17, Cuts Green Jersey Gap

Q: With his top mountain support rider now ill, is Tadej Pogačar's dominant Tour de France lead suddenly at risk in the Alps?

Pogačar’s lead is not suddenly in serious danger, but Adam Yates’s illness does create a real vulnerability heading into the Alps. Pogačar still holds a commanding overall advantage of 4 minutes, 32 seconds over Remco Evenepoel, and there is no evidence from Stage 17 that he himself is weakening. The bigger issue is team support. Yates, his key mountain domestique, was hit by a stomach illness after the rest day, reportedly vomiting and struggling badly. On Stage 17 he was dropped with about 80 kilometers left, finished 26:36 down, and only just made the time cut. That matters because the race is now moving into three decisive Alpine stages, including major summit finishes and the queen stage. In those conditions, a strong climbing lieutenant can be crucial for pacing, controlling attacks and protecting the yellow jersey. If Yates is still compromised, UAE Emirates XRG may have less ability to dictate the race on the hardest climbs. Even so, “at risk” should be kept in proportion. Pogačar’s cushion is large, Jonas Vingegaard is already out of the race, and Evenepoel would need to take back a huge amount of time in terrain where Pogačar is usually strongest. UAE also still has other support riders, even if Yates is their premium mountain helper. So the illness weakens Pogačar’s shield, but it does not by itself make him likely to lose the Tour. The Alps may test his team more than him.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jul 22

Jasper Philipsen claimed his first stage win of this Tour on Stage 17, boosting his challenge to Mads Pedersen in the green jersey standings.
Stage 17 ended in a reduced bunch sprint, where Philipsen finished ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij after another strong lead-out from Mathieu van der Poel.
The victory was Philipsen's 11th career Tour de France stage win and broke through after a string of near misses, including five earlier top-five finishes in this race.
The 108.5-mile route from Chambery to Voiron was seen as the last major chance for sprinters, making the points gain especially significant in the run-in to Paris.