Falls mar Tour de France stage finale as Philipsen wins again

NOGARO, FRANCE: Jasper Philipsen won a second consecutive stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday as a series of high-speed falls at the Nogaro motorbike racetrack stole the headlines.

The Alpecin rider Philipsen finished at a speed over 67kph and took the overall lead in the sprint points battle after pipping Caleb Ewan and Phil Bauhaus.

Belgian Philipsen expressed shock at the falls.

“I’ve never experienced a finish like that before, those curves are tight and I’m so happy not to have fallen,” said the 25-year-old.

His teammate and lead-out man Mathieu van der Poel also spoke out about the choice of placing the finale on a racetrack.

“A circuit is not safer than a road. I’m just happy I managed to stay upright and managed to find a gap for Jasper,” he said.

Philipsen agreed.

“Maybe because it was so boring and slow today the riders were more nervous. The corners were also much more technical than I had expected.

“Sadly, it’s a dangerous sport and it’s not always possible to maintain safety.”

Fabio Jakobsen was alongside Philipsen when he hit the tarmac.

“It’s not my aim to make anyone fall,” Philipsen said. “My take is that he tried to get into a space that was too small.”

British veteran Mark Cavendish came fifth as he continued to face frustration in his quest for a 35th Tour de France win to break the all-time record he shares with Eddy Merckx.

The 38-year-old, who finished sixth in Monday’s sprint, said he picked the wrong wheel to follow.

In the shockingly accident-filled finish, the peloton sped around a motorbike racetrack where there was a string of crashes on the rounded chicanes.

Tour medics have confirmed two riders broke collarbones.

Philipsen attracted ridicule at the Tour last year for