In the finale of stage 6 of the Tour de France, an irate Van Aert (Vimalies a Bike) blamed Jasper Philipsen for Van Aert's inability to bring in a sprint win, which later led to Philipsen's demotion.

Van Aart, who finished sixth, later blamed Philipsen's "bad habits" and said that his compatriot had surrounded him "again."

Van Aart also demanded that Philipsen be relegated, and Alpecin de Seuninck's Philipsen was relegated from second to 107th place.

Philipsen's team defended its players, with team manager Christoph Rudhoeft saying, "I didn't think the operation justified de-classification 100%. Both sides have something to say." [Sporza reported that "there was almost steam coming out of his ears."

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

"It wasn't necessarily super dangerous because I just braked in time. But I sprinted to his level and I don't understand why he swerved into the barrier."

"That was not a professional way to "close the door." He must have felt I was next to him. But he did the same thing at the Tour last year and now he's trying to do it again."

Before the commissaire's verdict against Philipsen was announced, Van Aert said he was glad to have been able to stay upright but would be angry if Philipsen was not penalized. He also said such maneuvers are part of an alarming trend in racing.

"I'm especially happy to have stayed upright. But if there were no sanctions, that would make me angry. We shouldn't throw him out of the tool, but we should declassify him."

"Today we saw one crazy stunt after another in the last few kilometers. If we don't punish him that severely, everyone will think anything is possible. This is an increasingly big problem."

Van Aert, who won the Tour de France TT in 2021 and a stage on the Champs-Elysées 24 hours later, said he was really looking forward to Friday's time trial. Not only is the 25km against the clock a good target, but it will also be an important reference point for him as he prepares for the Olympic TT, in which he will represent Belgium after suffering a crash earlier in the season.

As for the bunch sprint, it will also take place at the Tour de France on Saturday.

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