Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck) deviated in the sprint on stage 6 of the Tour de France, forcing his Belgian compatriot to brake to avoid running into the barriers in the final sprint to Dijon, and Wout Van Art ( Vimalies a Bike) apologized to him.

The defending Tour green jersey winner was demoted for his actions in the flat finish after finishing second behind Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco Alura). His first assessment was anger at himself for losing the stage, but he found himself relegated to 107th place, a CHF 500 fine, and losing even more points for the green jersey.

Team manager Christoph Rudhoeft said after the stage, "I didn't think it was a strategy that would justify a 100% sectional demotion," but Philipsen was satisfied with the jury's decision this morning and reacted to the incident on his Instagram page.

"Of course I am disappointed to be demoted after a very hectic sprint yesterday. We didn't intentionally try to surround him or push him into the barriers," said Philipsen.

"Like any sprinter, I'm competitive and I want to win every sprint stage.

Van Aat was angry with Sporza after the stage, recalling a similar action taken by Philipsen in the opening sprint stage of the 2023 race. Because Philipsen escaped relegation in Bayonne, Van Aert appealed for a change in decision-making yesterday before the decision to relegate him was made.

"I was surrounded by Jasper Philipsen again in the sprint. That's a bad habit of his.

"It was especially good that I was able to stay upright. But if there was no sanction, that would make me angry. We shouldn't throw him off the tool.

"If we don't punish him that severely, everyone will think anything is possible. This is an increasingly big problem."

Philipsen, along with Alpecin Deceuninck's lead-out train, has developed a reputation as an aggressive sprinter, thanks largely to Netflix's Tour de France: contact does happen in the Tour de France sprint, but other He never makes a conscious move that endangers sprinters.

"What I do as a sprinter is the 'highest price poker' you can play as a cyclist, but I never make a conscious move to endanger other riders."

"I can't say there is no contact. There is no higher level than the Tour de France."

Van Aert later commented on Philipsen's post, stating only that he "accepts the apology."

Philipsen went 3-0 in the 2024 Tour de France sprint, just missing out on four wins and the green jersey in the 2023 race. With the drama with Van Aert over, his next sprint opportunity will be the Colombie-les-Deux-Eglise climb on stage 8.

"Thanks again to the team for their support during the race as well as after. We will do it again tomorrow. I'll try to go as fast as I can and win fair and square."

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