Tour de France 2023 stage 7 LIVE: Result and winner as Jasper Philipsen pips Mark Cavendish in Bordeaux
The Astana rider will be among the contenders as the peloton heads for Bordeaux
Jasper Philipsen won a dramatic sprint in the final metres of stage 7 of the Tour de France as he edged past Mark Cavendish in Bordeaux to stop the Brit earning a record breaking 35th stage win on Tour.
A long, flat stage left many riders in contention as Simon Guglielmi headed off on his own in a breakaway and never looked comfortable in that role.
For most of the day the general classification teams, including Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo Visma, took the time to rest up after a brutal few days in the mountains.
When the peloton finally hit Bordeaux the sprinters burst into action with Philipsen taking on an early attack 800 metres from the line. He left Caleb Ewan behind only for Cavendish to make a move on the outside and get the lead with 100m to go. Philipsen, however, was too savvy. He dropped onto Cavendish’s wheel and swept past the 38-year-old in the final few metres to win the stage and leave the Brit slumped over the handlebars is heartbreak.
Relive all the action from stage seven below:
Tour de France stage 7
146km to go: Guglielmi is now 7min 10 sec ahead up front but there’s some movement back down the road with Lotto Dstny taking up the chase.
Tour de France stage 7
150km to go: Simon Guglielmi of Arkea-Samsic is resigned to his fate as a lone breakaway rider. He’s got his head down and is pushing along as best he can.
The gap to the rest of the peloton is over five minutes now but there’s a long, long way to go in this stage.
Stage 7: Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux, 170km
The first week of racing finishes in the Tour’s second most visited city, Bordeaux, and it’s a third flat day for the sprinters to contest.
Much will depend on who has best preserved their legs through the high mountains when they come to this tight, technical finish on the banks of the Garonne river in the city centre.
Tour de France stage 7
155km to go: This one-man breakaway will mean a slower overall speed today.
That will be very welcome to most of the peloton who are knackered after theire efforts through the Pyrenees and some flat-out racing there.
It may not be the most exciting of days until they reach the latter stages.
Tour de France stage 7
160km to go: Simon Guglielmi is still bombing away on his own and has opened up a 2’48” lead over the jersey holders. Commentary on Eurosport says that today marks 16 years since Mark Cavendish made his debut at the Tour de France.
It would be an ideal day for him to break the stage victory record wouldn’t it?
Caleb Ewan speaking ahead of stage 7
Caleb Ewan of Lotto Dstny has a chat with Eurosport this morning and was asked about the point at 3km to go on today’s route, when the peloton will turn and head over a bridge. It’s being seen as a key point to be up front.
“You’ll see all the GC teams and sprint teams up there,” he said. “After that it’s going to be pretty hard to move. That’s a real crucial point … I think the best thing for us will be to try to use the GC teams as much as possible … if we can use them and leave as many guys as possible for the last 3km then that will be perfect.
“I feel good. I think I got thr the mountains relatively easy. Definitely better than I was going last year, so that’s a big bonus I think.”
Tour de France stage 7
164km to go: Today’s route is long but fairly flat and most of the excitement will come later in the day when the sprinters have their dart at the finish in Bordeaux.
Simon Guglielmi has been done up like a kipper. He’s out in the breakaway all on his own and has been told by his team to stay out their and set the pace.
It’s going to be a long and tough ride for him now.
Tour de France stage 7
Simon Guglielmi, Nelson Oliveira and Mathieu Burgeaudeau are in the three riders in the breakway. Jonas Abrahamsen was with them but dropped back to the main bunch.
Guglielmi is left out on his own as Oliveira and Burgeaudeau are told to drop back too.
Tour de France stage 7
They’re off! the riders reach the depart reel and there’s a small effort of a breakaway with three or four racers taking to the front. The peloton doesn’t move to close the gap.
How Mark Cavendish became a Tour de France legend – according to his fierce rivals and loyal teammates
Mark Cavendish once gave me the look.
It was an interview in a hotel lobby in Yorkshire; he was slightly late and apologised profusely, then answered questions about the Tour de France with enthusiasm and detail. For some reason, I thought 10 minutes of flowing conversation made me his trusted confidant, so I looked him in the eyes and asked: how much do you want to break Eddy Merckx’s Tour stage record? He shrugged it off. But what would it mean to you? He went quiet. Wouldn’t it crown your legacy?
The look was somewhere in the venn diagram of anger and disdain, and I half expected him to walk off. He stayed, but in that brief moment I felt the gentlest prod of his famous spikiness. Cavendish was once asked what he’d learned from a difficult day on the bike. “That journalists sometimes ask some stupid f***ing questions,” he replied.
How Mark Cavendish became a Tour de France legend – according to rivals and teammates
Explosive on the bike and off it, the Manx missile is on the cusp of winning the most Tour de France stages in history. Lawrence Ostlere speaks to allies and opponents about the fast and furious sprinter
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