Wednesday, July 22nd, 17th stage: Chambéry > Voiron– Frustrated in the bunch sprints, Jasper Philipsen(Alpecin-Premier Tech) reinvented himself to take an eleventh stage win on the roads of the Tour, his first this year. The Belgian sprinter matched the aggressive racing of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to make the front group and, with crucial support from Mathieu Van der Poel and his teammates, power to victory in Voiron, where he finished second last year at La Vuelta. At the finish, Philipsen got the better of Mauro Schmid(Jayco AlUla) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and scored significant points in the battle for the green jersey. He is up to 445 points, just seven short of Pedersen’s tally. After Remco Evenepoel’s victories at Plateau de Solaison and in Thonon-les-Bains, Belgian riders take a third stage win in a row. The last time they achieved such a series was in 1981.
After the time trial dominated by Remco Evenepoel, the peloton returned to action for a 174.7-kilometer stage from Chambéry to Voiron over rolling terrain. The stage featured 2,200 meters of elevation gain, although most of the climbing came in the opening half of the route. The question was whether the sprinters could withstand the baroudeurs, or if the attackers would prevail.
Van der Poel led the charge
Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) attacked as soon as the 164-rider peloton passed kilometer zero. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) joined him, and the pair led the way toward Aix-les-Bains (km 8), a classic Tour venue where Raymond Poulidor claimed his first stage victory in 1962. However, they were reeled in amid a flurry of attacks and counterattacks.
The pace remained relentless over the opening climbs: the Category 4 Côte de Bassa (summit at km 19.2), the Category 4 Côte de Rossillon (km 35.5), the Category 3 Col des Prés (km 49.6), and the Category 4 Côte de Saint-Jean d’Arvey (km 59.5). Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was particularly determined to make the breakaway.
Del Toro was caught behind
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) remained attentive to every move. Around 50 riders were still in the lead group on the descent from Col des Prés. The yellow jersey holder was joined by Remco Evenepoel (second overall), Paul Seixas (fourth), Juan Ayuso (fifth) and Mattias Skjelmose (sixth). Behind them, Isaac del Toro (third), Tom Pidcock (eighth), Jordan Jegat (ninth) and Yannis Voisard (10th) found themselves in a chasing group.
At the bottom of the descent, the race returned to Chambéry (km 68). Sixteen riders emerged off the front while the general classification contenders waited for the dropped riders to regain contact. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Daan Hoole (Decathlon CMA CGM) set the pace in the peloton.
Pedersen rode with remarkable strength
With 65 kilometers remaining, Adam Yates (UAE Emirates XRG) was dropped from the peloton. The British climber appeared to have emptied his reserves. In contrast, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) produced a powerful effort to close a small gap on his own. His acceleration sparked a series of counterattacks involving rivals including Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech).
Pedersen demonstrated his strength and endurance again 57 kilometers from the finish, splitting the lead group. Only five riders were able to follow: Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Michał Kwiatkowski (Netcompany Ineos), Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) and Ed Planckaert (Alpecin-Premier Tech).
Freed Philipsen delivered
Pedersen crossed first at the intermediate sprint in Colombe (km 147.5), collecting 25 valuable points in the battle for the green jersey. Immediately afterward, Stuyven attacked and went clear on his own. Behind him, the chase group containing Philipsen bridged back to Pedersen’s group with 15 kilometers remaining, leaving the Belgian 45 seconds ahead.
With 38 riders in pursuit, the chasing group had ample firepower to bring Stuyven back, making the catch just under 4 kilometers from the finish. Although several late attacks followed, Alpecin-Premier Tech remained firmly in control. Van der Poel delivered a perfectly timed lead-out for Philipsen, who sprinted to his first stage victory of the 2026 Tour, adding to his previous wins in 2022 (two), 2023 (four), 2024 (three) and 2025 (one). Pedersen took eighth to retain the Green Jersey.
Following Remco Evenepoel’s victories at Plateau de Solaison and Thonon-les-Bains, Belgian riders claimed a third consecutive stage victory. It marked the first time since 1981 that Belgium had won three straight Tour stages, when Daniel Willems, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Planckaert and Maertens again combined for four consecutive victories on Stages 1 through 4.
Stage 17 Results:
| 1 | J. PHILIPSEN | ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | 03h 41′ 13” | – | B : 10” | – |
| 2 | M. SCHMID | TEAM JAYCO ALULA | 03h 41′ 13” | – | B : 6” | – |
| 3 | O. KOOIJ | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 03h 41′ 13” | – | B : 4” | – |
| 4 | L. ASKEY | NSN CYCLING TEAM | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 5 | R. PLUIMERS | TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 6 | C. RUSSO | GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 7 | H. ARTZ | LOTTO INTERMARCHE | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 8 | M. PEDERSEN | LIDL-TREK | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 9 | M. MATTHEWS | TEAM JAYCO ALULA | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
| 10 | A. GATE | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 03h 41′ 13” | – | – | – |
General Classification after Stage 17:
| 1 | T. POGACAR | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 60h 04′ 17” | – | B : 52” | – |
| 2 | R. EVENEPOEL | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 60h 08′ 49” | + 00h 04′ 32” | B : 20” | – |
| 3 | I. DEL TORO | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 60h 11′ 08” | + 00h 06′ 51” | B : 24” | – |
| 4 | P. SEIXAS | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 60h 11′ 28” | + 00h 07′ 11” | B : 8” | – |
| 5 | J. AYUSO | LIDL-TREK | 60h 13′ 39” | + 00h 09′ 22” | – | – |
| 6 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 60h 14′ 31” | + 00h 10′ 14” | – | – |
| 7 | L. MARTINEZ | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 60h 17′ 07” | + 00h 12′ 50” | – | – |
| 8 | T. PIDCOCK | PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | 60h 17′ 15” | + 00h 12′ 58” | B : 8” | P : 20” |
| 9 | J. JEGAT | TOTALENERGIES | 60h 18′ 21” | + 00h 14′ 04” | – | – |
| 10 | Y. VOISARD | TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM | 60h 28′ 35” | + 00h 24′ 18” | – | – |
