(Reuters) – Riders usually savour a Tour de France stage win for hours but Jasper Philipsen’s celebration lasted only a couple of seconds on Tuesday.
The Belgian beat the rest of the bunch in a sprint finish at the end of the fourth stage, although he missed the fact that his compatriot Wout van Aert had already crossed the line after a solo attack 12km from the finish.
Philipsen bumped his chest in celebration seconds before Frenchman Christophe Laporte showed him that Van Aert was already cheering with his Jumbo Visma team staff.
“I had the feeling I had won for about two or three seconds,” he said before giving credit to Van Aert.
“It just shows how strong Van Aert is, to be able to hold off a whole peloton like this is quite something. I didn’t think anyone was capable of it.
“They were laughing behind me,” added Philipsen, who also had a smile on his face after his bittersweet experience.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
