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Thursday, July 23, 2026

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Tour de France stage seventeen reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Mauro Schmid's Team Jayco-AlUla:

Mauro Schmid put on another show as he sprinted to a super second place on stage 17 of the Tour de France.

The stage 13 winner once again used his expert race craft to infiltrate the race winning breakaway before following the attacks and going head-to-head with the sprinters into Voiron.

The front group approaches the finish. Mauro Schmid is in the center of the front riders. Sirotti photo

German champion Felix Engelhardt was the solo Team Jayco AlUla representative in the initial breakaway that took more than 50km to establish itself over the early categorised climbs.

He was eventually joined by Michael Matthews, who bridged across in a counter move, then later by Schmid and Ben O’Connor, who made it across in another large group of attackers.

When the large breakaway split eventually, Engelhardt followed and found himself in a dangerous looking group inside the final 50km of racing.

That group was eventually swallowed up by the chase group containing Matthews, Schmid and O’Connor, with the latter playing the team role as he helped reel in the final lone attacker.

As more attacks were launched on the run into town, Schmid stayed alert and followed the wheels, but as they entered the streets of Voiron it was clear a reduced group sprint was on the cards.

Schmid made his way to the fore as he followed a late surge into the final kilometre to find himself in second position through the final corner. The multiple Swiss champion then mixed it with the fast finishers, with only sprinter Jasper Philipsen able to get the better of him.

Matthews made it two Team Jayco AlUla riders in the top-10 as the Australian grabbed ninth place across the line.

Mauro Schmid:
“We knew straight away that when the groups came together there were some super strong sprinters, but with this type of finish, normally Michael is extremely strong, also after a hard day in the saddle.

"In the end we rode with two guys and the plan was to bring him up and do the lead out, but it was super chaotic. I think Tarling attacked and I ended up on his wheel and in the end I was in this position and I had to go for the sprint because there wasn’t much time to look around at that moment

"Maybe I should have gone straight away after the corner, but I also didn’t want to mess up the race for Bling. I had no idea which position he was, so I didn’t want to go early and do the lead out for somebody else. But when Van der Poel came past I just had to go for it.”

Here's the Tour stage 17 report from fourth-place Lewis Askey's NSN Cycling Team:

A first Tour de France top-10 and a ride to be proud of for Lewis Askey in Voiron, Isère, on Wednesday.

The British rider finished fourth on stage 17, having fought doggedly on multiple occasions to make the crucial splits throughout a fascinating day of racing.

NSN was initially left without any representation in a strong 16-rider group that formed after the day’s final climb, the Côte de Saint-Jean d’Arvey (KM59.5). That breakaway later split in two, before Askey ended up joining the likes of eventual stage winner Jasper Philipsen, Olav Kooij, and green jersey leader Mads Pedersen in the second group on the road.

Lewis Askey is just right-of-center behind winner Japer Philipsen. Sirotti photo

He says: “I rode a good race – I did what I had to do. The rest day and the time trial were massive saviours for me – without those, I wouldn’t have been here. That recovery helped me and it really made a big difference today.

“We knew it was going to be close today, and we said before the stage that we just had to fight to the top of this climb and see what was going to happen then.

“I was actually only a few wheels in front of our guys at the top, but I just did a pretty rapid descent, and that got me into the front group. It was really hard to manage with other teams with more numbers there.

“But I managed to be in the split each time that it happened, apart from when Pedersen went.”

After a final regrouping in the final 10 kilometers, 26 riders came to the line to contest for the victory. Askey positioned himself well – third wheel – coming into the final right-hand corner, and managed to hold on in a long sprint to place fourth, the same result as his compatriot Ethan Vernon recorded in Voiron in last year’s Vuelta a España.

“I said to Sam [Bewley, Head DS] on the radio, I need to take the risk and just go for the sprint because, you know, we’re 17 stages into the Tour de France, and my legs are hurting a little bit,” he said.

“I knew my goal this morning before we started the stage was just to be in the top few wheels into that last corner. And I know after a hard day, there aren’t that many people who can beat me.

“I kind of still hesitated, and maybe I should have just gone. But I didn’t have loads left in the finish, but I don’t think anyone else did either. I was only fourth in the end, but I think I couldn’t have done much more, really.”

Here's the Tour report from Jasper Stuyven's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Long before the peloton left behind the neutral zone in Chambéry, it was clear for everyone that the hilly roads to Voiron were tailored to a breakaway, making stage 17 the biggest opportunity for the attackers to fight for glory this week. As a result, the first two hours of racing were fast and incredibly nervous, as dozens of riders tried to zip clear and book a place in the front group.

Around 45 kilometers into the stage, a group of around two dozen riders, including Jasper Stuyven, escaped the peloton’s clutches and began building a gap. A couple of kilometers later, Jasper attacked to force a selection, which left only 16 men up the road. The status quo continued for the next two hours, when another series of attacks left just six riders in the lead. Soudal Quick-Step’s Belgian, racing his 48th Grand Tour stage of the season, was one of the most prominent there, spending a lot of time at the front as the sextet was trying to increase its gap on the chasing group featuring many of the sprinters.

Jasper Stuyven about to be caught 4 kilometers from the finish.

After the intermediate sprint, Jasper sensed an opportunity and rode clear of the rest, quickly opening a promising gap of 40 seconds. It looked to be a decisive gap, especially with 15 kilometers to go, but things changed when the chasers bridged across and caught Stuyven’s former breakaway companions. That reduced peloton had a lot of firepower and fresh riders, and despite Jasper’s best effort, they managed to catch him just four kilometers from home.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I didn’t win, but at the same time, I am content knowing I gave my best and kept believing in my chances until the end. It was only when I could see them behind that I realized they would bring me back. It was difficult to survive with that large group coming back, especially as they were well organized and had the strength to close the gap. I don’t have any regrets, because I know I did everything I could to fight for the win, not just in the finale, but the entire day, from the moment I joined the breakaway”, Jasper said in voiron, where the stage concluded.

And here's the Tour report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed its attacking ambitions in the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France. Per Strand Hagenes, Matteo Jorgenson, and Victor Campenaerts animated the race, but were unable to prevent sprinter Jasper Philipsen from taking the stage victory.

In start town Chambéry, Leading Race Coach Marc Reef and Victor Campenaerts had already announced that, following the departure of leader Jonas Vingegaard, Team Visma | Lease a Bike would race aggressively. The riders in yellow and black stayed true to that plan. First, Hagenes and Jorgenson went clear, and later Campenaerts bridged across as the race approached the finale. The trio eventually found themselves in a group of around forty riders chasing sole leader Jasper Stuyven.

The peloton halfway into the stage. ASO photo

When Stuyven was caught with several kilometers remaining, Hagenes launched an all-or-nothing move. With many sprinters still present in the front group, the Tour debutant was given very little room during his late attack. A bunch sprint proved inevitable, and Philipsen emerged victorious. “With so many world-class riders in the finale, you know it’s going to be difficult to make something happen”, Hagenes says afterward.

The 23-year-old continues: “Still, we gave it a try in the final kilometers, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. For the television viewers, it must have been an entertaining stage. It was the same in the peloton, even though it was tough. We were in the mix today, which was something we had talked about beforehand, and we were able to show ourselves. That’s a positive sign for the team.”

“We saw a very strong team today and we went all-in”, Reef adds. “It was full-gas racing from start to finish. We expected a lot of interest in the breakaway and wanted to be part of it, and the riders delivered. This was a good opportunity for Per. Unfortunately, there were still plenty of sprinters in the first group with support around them. In that situation, a late attack has very little chance of succeeding. We’ll take those attacking intentions into the coming days.”

And here's the Tour report from Team Netcompany INEOS:

Netcompany INEOS put in a front-foot and attacking performance on stage 17 of the Tour de France. The team enlivened the stage, with a mentality which was encapsulated by Josh Tarling and his late attack in the final kilometre.

The Welshman launched an acceleration under the flamme rouge in Voiron, but with a host of sprinters in tow, would be hauled back on the finishing straight.

The team took an active approach to the stage, consistently putting riders up the road into moves across the 174.7-kilometre parcours.

Stage 17 gets rolling in the start town of Chambéry. Sirotti photo

In a day that constantly evolved, Michał Kwiatkowski was able to bridge across to the lead and then push on as part of a six-man group with 60km to go. The move was reeled in by the peloton with 15km remaining, but not before Jasper Stuyven (Soudal - QuickStep) had pushed clear solo briefly on the run-in.

Earlier, Tarling and Egan Bernal had formed part of a breakaway move. Their group was briefly joined by the yellow jersey as the peloton split behind, but further accelerations from Tarling helped force the breakaway back up the road.

In the end the race came back together as a large breakaway contested the sprint, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - PremierTech) claiming his first win of the race. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) retained his grip on the yellow jersey ahead of a trio of mountain stages.

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Thursday, July 23, 2026

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