Philipsen Chaos: First relegated, then back to 3rd

One elbow too many and an irregular trajectory: these are the moves that cost Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) dearly, as he was demoted from third to last place — 119th — in the standings of the eleventh stage of the 2026 Tour de France , Vichy-Nevers.

The race stewards have not yet released the official reasons for their decision, limiting themselves to releasing the updated results. However, the images speak for themselves: in the tense final sprint won by Norway's Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), Philipsen first veered off course, colliding with a Picnic PostNL rider, before suddenly moving to the right—where space was opening up for the final rush—hitting Biniam Girmay (NSN) with his elbow.

A tense, fast, and fierce sprint, in which the Belgian champion lost his lead at the most crucial moment. What looked like a third-place finish behind Wærenskjold and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) turned into a bitter relegation to the back of the pack, with the associated loss of points for the green jersey classification.

Update: A few minutes after the demotion, however, the jury upheld Alpecin's appeal and Philipsen thus returned to third place on the stage.