Belgian sprinter Philipsen completes hat trick of stage wins at Tour, Girmay falls near finish

NIMES, France (AP) - Jasper Philipsen completed a hat trick of stage wins at this year’s Tour de France after Biniam Girmay - his main rival for the best sprinter’s green jersey - crashed near the finish on Tuesday.

There was no major change in the general classification with two-time champion Tadej Pogacar keeping the overall lead.

Philipsen was perfectly led out by his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates in the last kilometer of the 16th stage leading the peloton to Nimes, and he comfortably won the mass sprint. Once set up by Mathieu van der Poel, Philipsen was just too fast and too powerful for his fellow sprinters, edging Phil Bauhaus and Alexander Kristoff.

It was Philipsen’s ninth career stage win at cycling’s marquee event.

Girmay, whose lead at the top of classification for the green jersey was cut to 32 points, hit the tarmac within the last 2 kilometers. He got back on his bike and reached the finish line.

With two weeks of intense racing in the legs and a tough final week looming, the peloton was back on the bike following a rest day and took it easy. In the summer heat of southern France, the pack stayed together on long stretches of flat roads for the 189-kilometer (117 mile) stage.

The race livened up after the intermediate sprint, some 97 kilometers (60 miles) after the start, when Frenchman Thomas Gachignard tried to break away with a solo attack. He built a lead of more than two minutes before the sprinters’ teams took care of the chase and reined him in with 25 kilometers left.

Pogacar, who stamped his authority on the race last weekend in the Pyrenees mountains, kept the yellow jersey with a lead of 3 minutes, 9 seconds over two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. Third-place Remco Evenepoel is lagging 5:19 off the pace.

Riders head to the Alps on Wednesday with a stage to the ski resort of Superdevoluy, featuring three tough climbs in the final 40 kilometers.

Chris Harper of Australia did not start Tuesday’s stage. His Jayco Alula team said that Harper "is suffering from COVID symptoms and following medical advice he will return home to rest and recover properly for the next goals."

Harper's withdrawal marked the latest case of coronavirus at the three-week race, following those of Juan Ayuso - a teammate of race leader Tadej Pogacar - Tom Pidcock and Maxim Van Gils. Tour de France organizers have reintroduced protective measures against the virus, including mandatory mask-wearing for all those who might get in contact with riders and team staff on the race.

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