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No Doubt TdF24-99
Alas, the fairy tale ending of Mark Cavendish's career did not get told today. He caught washed away in the sprint coming in 17th for his final Tour de France sprint stage. Not what he wanted, but he does have the record for Tour Stage wins that he set back in Stage 3 almost a week and a half ago. Today, it was Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) showing a clean set of wheels to Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) and the rest of the peloton. He left no doubt that given a strong lead-out, he is the best sprinter in the Tour. It didn't hurt his chances that Girmay is still sitting on the ground 800 meters back up the road. Because Girmay crashed, Philipsen has moved within 32 points in the competition to wear the Maillot Vert in Nice. With no more sprint stages, and Girmay's stronger climbing legs, the Eritrean should be able to keep the jersey, but it is much more of an fine edge now.