Tour de France 2023 stage 7 LIVE: Result and winner as Jasper Philipsen pips Mark Cavendish in 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 2023 - Stage Seven

• Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7 beating Mark Cavendish in the final few metres

• Stage 7: 170km of largely flat terrain from Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux

• Mark Cavendish chases record 35th stage win

• Tadej Pogacar makes Tour de France statement with summit victory on stage six

Jasper Philipsen pips Mark Cavendish to claim third stage win of Tour de France

16:44 , Mike Jones

Jasper Philipsen denied Mark Cavendish a record-breaking Tour de France victory on the line as the Belgian won stage seven on the line in Bordeaux.

Philipsen made it three wins from three sprint stages in a row in this Tour as he came around Cavendish in the final few metres, leaving the Manxman to curse as he rolled in second, still tied with Eddy Merckx on 34 career Tour wins.

The 38-year-old had come from well down in the pack to power his way down the right hand side and up to the front of the race, but Philipsen got onto his wheel and powered by, with Biniam Girmay in third.

Jasper Philipsen pips Mark Cavendish to claim third stage win of Tour de France

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:41 , Mike Jones

Post race reaction from the stage winner:

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:40 , Mike Jones

General classification leaderboard after stage 7:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) - 29hr 57min 12sec

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +25sec

3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 34sec

4. Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) +3min 14sec

5. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +3min 30sec

6. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +3min 40sec

7. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +4min 3sec

8. Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich) +4min 43sec

9. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) +4min 43sec

10. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) +5min 28sec

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:32 , Mike Jones

Here are the top five results from the Stage 7 finale. It was almost there for Mark Cavendish but he had to settle for second place.

1. Jasper Philipsen

2. Mark Cavendish

3. Biniam Girmay

4. Luca Mozzato

5. Dylan Groenewegen

Elsewhere, Jonas Vingegaard retains the yellow jersey.

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:30 , Mike Jones

The stage winner spoke after his victory and there’s no surprise that he was quite complimentary about Mark Cavendish.

“I’m super happy and proud, I was always in a good wheel, I never had to do a big effort before I launched my sprint, I can’t believe it,” he said,

“If you’d told me this one week ago [he’d win three stages] I’d have said you’re crazy. So far, it’s a dream tour … from now on, I am looking to Paris also.

“He [Cavendish] was really strong, I would also have loved to see him win … I think everybody … but for sure he will keep on trying, he’s up there, he’s in good condition.”

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:27 , Mike Jones

What a result for Jasper Philipsen, what a finish, what a race.

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

16:15 , Mike Jones

Tour de France stage 7

16:12 , Mike Jones

Jasper Philipsen wins stage 7!

Mark Cavendish is pipped right on the line. It’s heartbreaking for the Brit who finishes in second place. He was beaten in the final 10 metres or so.

Philipsen timed his second attack perfectly and had enough in the legs to get past.

Tour de France stage 7

16:10 , Mike Jones

800m to go: Inside the final kilometre and the sprinters go for it. Japser Philipsen starts to accelerate but Mark Cavendish makes a run on the outside....

Tour de France stage 7

16:09 , Mike Jones

2km to go: When will they decide to go? The sprinters are all close to the front as the peloton heads over the river and moves through a chicane.

Caleb Ewan and Jasper Philipsen seem to be the front men.

Tour de France stage 7

16:07 , Mike Jones

3km to go: Jasper Philipsen, Mark Cavendish, Caleb Ewan and Fabio Jakobsen are all well placed. Pierre Latour is caught and reigned as they fly around the hairpin.

Inside three kilometres.

Tour de France stage 7

16:05 , Mike Jones

5km to go: Pierre Latour is now out front on his own with five kilometres to go. There’s no way he can keep going long enough to get to the finish as his lead is only six seconds.

The calls will be coming through for the sprinters to move up.

Tour de France stage 7

16:04 , Mike Jones

7km to go: The sun is shining and sparkling over the river as the riders drive towards Bordeaux. A tight squeeze to get past a roundabout sees Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers move towards the front of the peloton.

The peloton is starting to spread out. Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar are wheel to wheel. The gap to the two front men is now just 12 seconds.

Tour de France stage 7

16:01 , Mike Jones

10 km to go: Inside the final 10k and this is where the stage starts to get very exciting. Peters and Latour are just waiting to get hooked back into the peloton as the different teams continue to position.

They want to get themselves up near the front in order to have the best place to release their sprinters to the line.

Tour de France stage 7

15:58 , Mike Jones

12km to go: Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish are riding close together near the front of the peloton. It’s going to be quite narrow when they hit the city and get ready for the sprint.

Peters and Latour now only lead by 34 seconds.

Tour de France stage 7

15:53 , Mike Jones

15km to go: Dylan Groenewegen is one to watch closely in today’s finale and he’s well in with a chance of taking the stage win.

“Everybody is a bit tired, so normally there’s a bit more space, and that’s what I like. But there are really good sprinters here. The first two sprints didn’t go very well, but the shape is still there and now it’s time to show it.

“I think so. He [Jasper Philipsen] is really fast and his whole team is really strong, but we are here to beat him. And let’s try it again today.”

Tour de France stage 7

15:51 , Mike Jones

18km to go: Now then. The peloton has been putting in the work to close the gap on Alex Peters and Pierre Latour. It’s down to 41 seconds as the riders approach the run in to Bordeaux.

Tour de France stage 7

15:48 , Mike Jones

20km to go: It’s been 13 years since the last finish in Bordeaux, that’s the second-longest drought after the 1911- 1924 period, which includes the 1915-1918 forced pause due to World War I.

The last French win in Bordeaux occurred in 1996: Frédéric Moncassin took his last Tour win here from Erik Zabel and Fabio Baldato.

Tour de France stage 7

15:46 , Mike Jones

25km to go: The gap to the two leaders is 1min 11sec and that is a very impressive ride from Latour and Peters who are making the sprinters’ teams toil to catch up.

There’s still time for the potential stage winners to take on fluids and set themselves up to tackle the sprint at the end.

Tour de France stage 7

15:37 , Mike Jones

30km to go: Jasper Philipsen is looking for his third win in a row in bunch sprints on this Tour.

In this century only two riders won the first two sprints and nothing else during a Tour: Tom Steels in 2000 and Tom Boonen in 2005.

Philipsen seems to be the man to beat this afternoon.

Tour de France stage 7

15:35 , Mike Jones

33km to go: Mark Cavendish on winning today’s stage: “It’s another opportunity … it’s been nice to be in Bordeaux before. I won in 2010, so we’ll try and do the same today … It’s a nice boulevard sprint, just how I like it. We’ll see what happens.

“It’s just about staying up there. To put it simply. It’s about staying up there. The problem is all the sprinters teams and GC teams want to stay up there too. It’s going to take a lot of effort.”

Tour de France stage 7

15:32 , Mike Jones

35km to go: The pace is increasing at the front of the race with Latour and Peters bombing away from Simon Guglielmi. They’re over a minute ahead of the peloton and may be starting to think about a potential stage win.

That seems unlikely though.

Tour de France stage 7

15:20 , Mike Jones

45km to go: Belgian riders are the most successful here with 22 wins, one more than France (21); the Netherlands are in third place with 12 wins in Bordeaux.

Tour de France stage 7

15:15 , Mike Jones

50km to go: The peloton spreads out across the road as the sprinters and their teams position themselves ahead of the sprint finish. There’s a few tactics on play and no doubt more action and moving will take place across the final 50km of this stage.

Tour de France stage 7

15:05 , Mike Jones

58km to go: Guglielmi, Latour and Peters lead by 1’20’’. Guglielmi will be appreciating the help out front now.

Tour de France stage 7

14:56 , Mike Jones

65km to go: The most successful rider in Bordeaux is Eddy Merckx, with 4 wins: 3 times the “Circuit du Lac” Time Trial (1970, 1972, 1974) and Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux in 1971.

Walter Godefroot follows with 3 wins. Who’s going to win here in 2023?

Tour de France stage 7

14:47 , Mike Jones

74km to go: Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Nans Peters (AG2R-Citroën) have gone after Simon Guglielmi, catching the leader with 74km still to go.

The peloton are only 25 seconds behind them though so you have to question the logic of expending the energy at this stage.

Tour de France stage 7

14:42 , Mike Jones

78km to go: Biniam Girmay took the points for second place with a well-timed push to the line as the sprinters took up the challenge of the intermediate sprint at Grignols.

Here’s the full result:

1. Simon Guglielmi, 20 pts

2. Biniam Girmay, 17 pts

3. Jasper Philipsen, 15 pts

4. Bryan Coquard, 13 pts

5. Jordi Meeus, 11 pts

6. Mads Pedersen, 10 pts

7. Corbin Strong, 9 pts

8. Alexander Kristoff, 8 pts

9. Mark Cavendish, 7 pts

10. Mikkel Bjerg, 6 pts

11. Alexis Renard, 5 pts

12. Tadej Pogacar, 4 pts

13. Matteo Trentin, 3 pts

14. Marc Soler, 2 pts

15. Kevin Vermaerke, 1 pt

Tour de France stage 7

14:36 , Mike Jones

82km to go: Simon Guglielmi has covered 41.3km in the third hour of racing. His average speed so far is 40.3km/h. His gap out front is falling rapidly and is now underneath two minutes.

On the intermediate sprint Guglielmi takes 20 points in the green jersey race which is a nice reward for his efforts today.

Behind him the sprinters get stuck into the action. Mark Cavendish decides not to challenge, he’ll be saving himself for the end of today’s stage.

Tour de France stage 7

14:28 , Mike Jones

87km to go: It’s the 80th stage finish in Bordeaux in the history of the Tour de France.

The capital city of the historical Aquitaine region is second to Paris (113 stages up to date) on the list of the hosting towns of the Tour de France.

The last one was stage 18 won in 2010 by Mark Cavendish who is in the peloton for the last time this year.

Tour de France stage 7

14:19 , Mike Jones

92km to go: The gap keeps is hovering around 2 minutes 40 seconds now.

On Eurosport, Philippe Gilbert says he reckons Jasper Philipsen will win today’s stage sprint because he has the best lead out guy in Mathieu van der Poel.

That seems to be the prevailing opinion when concerned with how the stage will go.

Tour de France stage 7

14:15 , Mike Jones

95 km to go: The intermediate sprint is rapidly approaching with the peloton beginning to think about the classification points for the green jersey.

Simon Guglielmi is only 2’31” ahead now and should get caught over the next 14km before the sprint arrives.

Tour de France stage 7

14:00 , Mike Jones

105km to go: Guglielmi’s lead is being eaten into as the kilometres continue to tick by. It stands at 3’15” now but the Frenchman still has his head down and is plowing on to try and remain in front.

Tour de France stage 7

13:52 , Mike Jones

111km to go: Simon Guglielmi is plugging away at the front of the field, all on his own. He’s still three and a half minutes ahead of the peloton.

Tour de France stage 7

13:46 , Mike Jones

116km to go: Today’s result should have very little impact on the general classification standings but you can never say never with the Tour de France.

Here’s how things stand after Tadej Pogacar’s victory in stage 6:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 26hrs 10mins 44secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +25secs

3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 34secs

4. Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) 3mins 14secs

5. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) 3mins 30secs

6. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +3mins 40secs

7. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +4mins 03secs

8. Romain Bardet (DSM) +4mins 42secs

9. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) Same time

10. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) +5mins 28secs

Tour de France stage 7

13:39 , Mike Jones

120km to go: Simon Guglielmi’s time at the front of the race may be coming to an end pretty soon. The peloton has reduced the gap on him to three minutes 50 seconds but the Frenchman looks determined to keep up his pace.

Being in the breakaway on your own is an unenviable task.

Tour de France stage 7

13:34 , Mike Jones

124km to go: Mads Pedersen believes he’s just getting ‘better and better’ through the Tour this year.

“I’m getting better and better during the race, so harder stages before the sprints is always a bit better for me.” he said about his chances of winning today’s stage.

“Yeah, it is. We didn’t manage the sprints 100% well with the results in the past two sprints we had, so now it’s time to show where we are. But again, it’s tough.

“It was never easy for me, sprint days like this where it’s easy the whole day and then there’s a sprint in the end. But we believe in it and we take our chance.”

Tour de France stage 7

13:24 , Mike Jones

132 km to go: Jumbo-Visma’s Head of Nutrition Martijn Redegeld has given an interview with Eurosport explaining how the team prepares for a stage like today, which is long and steady but made harder by the sun and the heat.

Lots of frozen gels, lots of fluids with a focus on carbohydrate intact each hour. It’s interesting stuff to learn what the riders have to go through to get themselves through the Tour de France.

Tour de France stage 7

13:15 , Mike Jones

135km to go: The peloton has cut the time gap on Simon Guglielmi to a tick under five minutes without exerting much effort. The Frenchman will be thankful once he’s drawn back in but it’s been a fine effort to stay out in front so far.

On Eurosport team Arkea-Samsic, the team of Guglielmi explained their decision to keep him out in front. They said:

“It’s going to be a complicated day for him. Four riders would have been easier … but we took the decision to send him up the front, and then we decided to keep him there.”

Tour de France stage 7

13:06 , Mike Jones

140km to go: It’s a boiling hot day as the peloton start to reduce the time gap on Simon Guglielmi. Throughout the day it’ll be important for the riders to cool themselves down and maintain enough energy for the final sprint.

Tour de France stage 7

13:02 , Mike Jones

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

12:53 , Mike Jones

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

12:45 , Mike Jones

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

12:44 , Mike Jones

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

12:39 , Mike Jones

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

12:37 , Mike Jones

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

12:33 , Mike Jones

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

12:29 , Mike Jones

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

12:27 , Mike Jones

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

12:24 , Mike Jones

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

Tour de France 2023 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days

12:18 , Mike Jones

The 2023 Tour de France has all the ingredients of a classic: two leading protagonists ready to tear lumps out of each other in reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard and the deposed Tadej Pogacar; entertaining multi-talented stage hunters Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe and Tom Pidcock; the great Mark Cavendish chasing a historic 35th stage win; all facing a brutal route with 56,000m of climbing and four summit finish.

The Tour began in the Spanish Basque country on Saturday 1 July, where Adam Yates edged twin brother Simon to win the opening stage, and these hilly routes will throw open the yellow jersey to a wide range of contenders. The race crosses the French border for some flat stages and an early jaunt into the high Pyrenees, where the Col du Tourmalet awaits. The peloton takes on the Puy de Dome volcano on its journey across France towards the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and it is in the mountains that this Tour will ultimately be decided. It all ends on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday 23 July.

Here is a stage-by-stage guide to how the race will unfold.

Stage-by-stage guide to the 2023 Tour de France route

Mark Cavendish will not allow emotions to get better of him in final Tour de France

12:12 , Mike Jones

Mark Cavendish knows he will have to put sentiment to one side as he looks for one last hurrah in his final Tour de France.

The 38-year-old will start his 14th and last Tour in Bilbao on Saturday as he moves into the final months of a glittering career, having announced in May that he will retire at the end of the season.

Cavendish is a former world champion and an Olympic medallist, but for the Manxman nothing compares to the Tour, a race in which his 34 career stage wins stand level with Eddy Merckx for the most of all-time.

Mark Cavendish will not allow emotions to get better of him in final Tour de France

Cavendish on his final Tour de France

12:05 , Mike Jones

“I know I’ve still got a job to do,” said Mark Cavendish when ruminating over his last time competing in the Tour de France. “I know I’ll regret that, not living in the moment of enjoying things. The whole experience of the Tour de France, you can’t describe it. This race gives you the most incredible emotions.

“Unfortunately you don’t really analyse it and appreciate them until afterwards. It’s the same every year. I know it’s my last one but it’s the same, I’ve got a job to do and I can’t really afford those little moments of sentiment.

“But I can definitely appreciate them later.”

Can Cavendish break the record?

11:59 , Mike Jones

Mark Cavendish is searching for a 35th stage win at the Tour de France which would set a new record on the tour moving him clear of Eddy Merckx for the most of all-time.

Will today be the day he does so?

Tadej Pogacar on yesterday’s stage win

11:52 , Mike Jones

“I would not say it’s revenge but it feels sweet to win and to take some time back,” Pogacar said. “I feel a little bit relieved, I feel much better now.

“The display Jonas showed yesterday was incredible and I was thinking when they started to pull on the Tourmalet, I thought, ‘S***, if it’s going to happen like yesterday we can pack our bags and go home’, but luckily I had good legs today and I could follow on the Tourmalet.

“I felt quite comfortable and when I felt it was the right moment in the end I attacked and it was a big relief… I would say now it’s almost the perfect gap and it’s going to be a big battle until the last stage I think.”

Vingegaars vs Pogacar

11:45 , Mike Jones

The battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar is set to go on hold today as the sprinters take centre stage. Pogacar won stage 6 yesterday with a brilliant attack late one and is now just 24 seconds behind the reigning champion.

Vingegaard finished second with a big enough gap over Jai Hindley to take possession of the yellow jersey.

Tadej Pogacar makes Tour de France statement with stage six win

11:39 , Mike Jones

Tadej Pogacar raced clear of rival Jonas Vingegaard to take a solo win on stage six of the Tour de France as Jai Hindley’s spell in the yellow jersey proved short-lived.

A day earlier, Pogacar appeared to be suffering the effects of his long injury lay-off as he lost significant time to Vingegaard while Hindley raced into yellow, but it all changed on the second Pyrenean stage as Pogacar flipped the script once again.

After sticking to Vingegaard’s attack on the mighty Tourmalet, the two-time Tour winner put in an explosive dig to distance his rival with 2.7 kilometres of the final climb up to Cauterets-Cambasque remaining, winning the 145km stage from Tarbes by 24 seconds.

Tadej Pogacar makes Tour de France statement with stage six win

What to expect from stage 7

11:33 , Mike Jones

Stage seven is one of very few sprint opportunities left in the race, and that means that while the general classification contenders will be recuperating as much as possible, there will be plenty of stress among the sprint teams as they jostle to win the stage.

The 170km route from Mont-de-Marsan offers up an intermediate sprint after 88km – Jasper Philipsen is dominating the points classification and may be tempted to come forward and fight for more points here, unless a breakaway has escaped up the road and swept them all up.

There is a small category four climb before the finish – the Cote de Beguey (1.2km at 4.4%) – but it is not enough to disrupt the sprinters from their task. A breakaway is likely, but we can expect it to be reeled in come the finish to set up a showdown to the line.

Stage 7 route map and profile

11:27 , Mike Jones

Tour de France stage 7 start time and prediciton

11:21 , Mike Jones

The stage is set to begin at around 12.30pm BST and is expected to finish at around 4pm BST.

It is hard to look beyond Jasper Philipsen here due to the nature of the sprint finish but let’s be adventurous – Caleb Ewan looks sharp and ready to win a stage, and this time he can close the deal after losing a photo finish in Nogaro.

Tour de France stage 6 result

11:14 , Mike Jones

Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning attack to win stage six on the summit finish at Cauterets and land a psychological blow in his duel with reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard.

But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey from the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley, and leads Pogacar in the general classification by 25 seconds.

It is set up to be a classic Tour de France.

Tour de France 2023 stage 7 preview: Route map and profile of 145km from Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux

11:05 , Jack Rathborn

The 2023 Tour de France erupted in the Pyrenees with a slugfest between the major general classification contenders in the mountains.

Tadej Pogacar produced a stunning attack to win stage six on the summit finish at Cauterets and land a psychological blow in his duel with reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard. But Vingegaard had the consolation of taking the yellow jersey from the shoulders of Australia’s Jai Hindley, and leads Pogacar in the general classification by 25 seconds. It is set up to be a classic Tour de France.

There could well be a thrilling and closely fought fight for the overall win, but that can wait: this is a day for those podium hunters to take a well-earned break from the cut and thrust at the front and let the sprinters take the floor. Stage seven is one of very few sprint opportunities left in the race, and that means that while the GC contenders will be recuperating as much as possible, there will be plenty of stress among the sprint teams as they jostle to win the stage.

Tour de France stage 7 preview: Cavendish eyes fresh chance in Bordeaux sprint