Chambery to Voiron – Photos A.S.O.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) finally found his win after a dry 2026 Tour, to take an eleventh stage win on the roads of the Tour, but his first this year.
The Belgian sprinter matched Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to make the front group and with support from Mathieu Van der Poel and his teammates, he was able to overcome previous odds to victory in Voiron.
At the finish, Philipsen got the better of Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and he has also now 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.
The Details
After the time trial yesterday in which Remco Evenepoel ruled, the peloton returned to action with a 174.7 km stage from Chambéry to Voiron on rolling terrain. The stage packed 2,200 meters of elevation gain, but most of the uphill challenges were in the first part of the route.
Van der Poel led the charge
Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché) attacked as soon as the 164-man peloton passed km 0. He was followed by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility). The two led the way en route to Aix-les-Bains (km 8), a classic venue of the Tour that notably saw Raymond Poulidor take his first stage win (in 1962), but soon they were reeled in because of a flurry of attacks and counter-attacks.
The pace was unrelenting over the first summits of the day: two cat. 4 climbs to begin with, Côte de Bassa (summit at km 19.2), Côte de Rossillon (km 35.5); then a cat. 3 climb, Col des Prés (km 49.6); and eventually another cat. 4 climb, Côte de Saint-Jean d’Arvey (km 59.5). Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) proved especially intent on making the break.
Del Toro slips back
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) watched the moves Around 50 riders remained in the front group on the downhill from Col de Prés. The Maillot Jaune was there, as well as Evenepoel (2nd overall), Paul Seixas (4th), Juan Ayuso (5th), and Mattias Skjelmose (6th). But Isaac del Toro (3rd), Tom Pidcock (8th), Jordan Jegat (9th) and Yannis Voisard (10th) were in a chase group.
At the bottom, the riders were back in Chambéry (km 68). Sixteen riders attacked from the front group while the GC contenders waited for the stragglers. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Daan Hoole (Decathlon CMA CGM) set the pace in the peloton.
Pedersen rode like the wind
With 65 kilometers to go, Adam Yates (UAE Emirates XRG) was distanced by the peloton. At the same time, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) found the legs to close the small gap on his own. This led to more counter-attacks featuring rivals like Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech).
But in the End, Philipsen delivers
Pedersen was the first at the intermediate sprint in Colombe (km 147.5), where he secured 25 points for the green jersey. Right after the line, Stuyven attacked. The Belgian went solo while the chase group with Philipsen got back to the Pedersen group with 15 kilometers to go. They were 45 seconds behind Stuyven.
With 38 riders in the chase group, they eventually closed the gap with just under 4 kilometers to go. Attackers tried to get away in the finale, but Alpecin-Premier Tech remained in control and Van der Poel launched Philipsen to his first stage win of the Tour 2026, after previous victories in 2022 (2), 2023 (4), 2024 (3), and 2025 (1).
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 feat was in 1981, with four consecutive victories claimed by Daniel Willems, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Planckaert, and Maertens again on stages 1, 2, 3 and 4.
