![Astana Qazaqstan Team's British rider Marc Cavendish](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341386699_16884085337030_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Mark Cavendish gears up for Nogaro after Jasper Philipsen gets stage three victory at Tour de France
![Astana Qazaqstan Team's British rider Marc Cavendish](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341386699_16884085337030_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Mark Cavendish said he was “confident and looking forward to” Tuesday’s pan-flat finish in Nogaro after finishing sixth in the first sprint of this year’s Tour in Bayonne on Monday.
The Manxman, 38, was unable to claim that historic 35th stage win which would lift him clear of Eddy Merckx and into sole ownership of the Tour de France’s all-time record.
Instead it was Belgian Jasper Philipsen, profiting from an excellent leadout from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, who eventually claimed victory, holding off Phil Bauhaus and Caleb Ewan on the slight uphill finish into Bayonne.
But Cavendish, who is retiring at the end of this season, declared himself encouraged both by his legs and by his Astana-Qazakstan team, who have no real sprint pedigree but who followed the plan to deliver him to within 2km of the finish “perfectly”.
“Obviously we’d like to win but I’m happy with how the boys rode,” said the Manxman. “I’m happy with my speed.
“You saw the teams who were up there are the teams who are doing it [sprinting] day in day out. But yeah we had a plan to get me at the front with 2km to go. That’s what the boys committed to and that’s what they did perfectly. Luis Leon [Sanchez] was always with me. Cees [Bol] was always with me.
“So actually the job came down to me trying to find the right wheels after that. And yeah, I was okay. I’m happy with the speed. I think 500m to go I was, I don’t know, not even in the top 10. And what did I finish? Sixth?”
Cavendish added that Monday’s finish, with a slight downhill before the final rise, did not particularly suit him. “It was more suited to the guys with massive torque, someone like Jonathan Milan. Or Wout van Aert. Someone who can put on a 56 [chainring] gear and get that run-in.”
![Jasper Philipsen - Tour de France stage three live: Jasper Philipsen wins first bunch sprint – latest reaction](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341418678_16884002991590_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqqdjb-p7zzJOPNWzBBDV6FP4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Tuesday’s finish in Nogaro is on the Paul Armagnac motor racing circuit, and Cavendish will hope to profit from the insights of Mark Renshaw, his former leadout man. The Australian was signed by Astana at the 11th hour as a ‘sprint and lead-out consultant’ at this Tour and has been riding ahead of the race, recording videos of the finals and leading team meetings on the bus.
“[Renshaw’s input] helped an awful lot,” Cavendish said after Monday’s stage. “I think what he said, he nailed it. And the boys nailed the plan.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s a different one. I’ve never finished on a motor racing circuit at the Tour before. I have in other races. It might be a bit different at the Tour. We’ll have to see. I’m looking forward to it. I think the whole peloton will be looking forward to a kind of a flatter day. I’m confident in my form, and I’m confident in how the team is going.”
Philipsen had to go through a nervy few minutes after the finish as the footage was reviewed by the race jury to check whether he had impeded Jumbo-Visma’s Wout Van Aert. But the commissaires agreed the barriers had curved and Philipsen had held his line.
“It was tense but it’s the Tour de France and there are no presents,” Philipsen said. “We can be really happy with the team performance. It was a great leadout with Jonas [Rickaert] and then Mathieu did a fantastic job and I’m really happy to keep it to the finish line.
“I tried to take the shortest route to the finish and I’m really happy to be first over the line.”
The sprint finish meant there were no major changes in the general classification, with Britain’s Adam Yates remaining six seconds ahead of his UAE Emirates team-mate Tadej Pogacar and twin brother Simon Yates of Jayco-Alula.
Tour de France, stage three: As it happened. . .
Stage three verdict: Cavendish can draw encouragement from sixth spot
There was no 35th Tour de France stage win for Mark Cavendish, but the signs were encouraging for the veteran Briton.
Some clever riding, and quick thinking from the Astana Qazaqstan sprinter – coupled with a brave ride from Luis León Sánchez – put Cavendish in a position that many had not envisaged when the peloton rolled out from Amorebieta-Etxano earlier today.
![Mark Cavendish - Jasper Philipsen charges to stage three victory at Tour de France](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341420554_16884031374850_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bql0GMIwuCjJtjeC1EJjXb11KtFnOH91jaBo2e8ksgzm4.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The mood, it seems, is wholly positive in the Astana Qazaqstan camp, too, following the reunion between Mark Renshaw – Cavendish’s former lead-out man – and the rider in the weeks counting down to his final Tour. Renshaw has long since retired, of course, but is now acting as a ‘sprint and lead-out consultant’, and if Monday’s result is anything to go by, that may just deliver to win Cavendish and Astana Qazaqstan so desperately crave.
Colleague Tom Cary has been in touch from outside the team bus in Bayonne where Renshaw, kitted out in Astana Qazaqstan kit, before heading out on a post-stage spin. Cavendish, by all accounts, ribbed the Aussie pointing out that he did not look too great in Lycra following his retirement. “What do you mean?” Renshaw barked back at his old pal. “I’m ready to go. Just give me the call, Cav’,” he joked. All is well, it seems, within the Astana Qazaqstan camp.
Adam Yates keeps leader’s yellow jersey
“It was a nice day – for us it was more about recovering a little bit, as much as possible. It’s not an easy thing to do in the Tour de France so every chance we get to recover we will, and today was one of those days,” the UAE Team Emirates mans said after stage three.
![Adam Yates](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341421034_16884018382480_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqRNwCQSKfcwb8pLBLnDhN8jIf3xJldU7OYSb45svjLCw.jpeg?imwidth=350)
“So we took it easy and even in the sprint at the end we tried to stay back, stay out of the crashes and all the carnage and I think we did a good job.
“The first sprint day is always tense but actually it’s quite nice, the roads the last few days have been really nice – wide roads, not a crazy amount of furniture, and it definitely helps to limit the crashes and the carnage.”
Confirmation: Philipsen definitely won the stage
“It was a bit of a doubt, but they make it really exciting in the end,” Philipsen joked in his post-race interview. “It was tense but it’s the Tour de France and there are no presents. We can be really happy with the team performance. It was a great leadout with Jonas [Rickaert] and then Mathieu [van der Poel] did a fantastic job and I’m really happy to keep it to the finish line. I tried to take the shortest route to the finish and I’m really happy to be first over the line.”
![Jasper Philipsen](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341420300_16884015564970_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQ9IGCg_o3BEp99q38Xs6WC7ERuim9fByVkayoW1BS_A.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Win, or no win?
There appears to be some confusion over Jasper Philipsen’s ‘win’. Not sure if there has been a protest, but he has not yet done his traditional post-race winners’ interview.
![Jasper Philipsen](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341420370_16884014400350_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq5AKy6kltchdyQ3tVtY_32XwSCF1R0VweJ7DS2UnVMSQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Sean 'the King' Kelly responds...
“It’s not a guarantee all finishes will be as good as this but today was a day where the sprinters were going to go for it,” Eurosport GCN expert Sean Kelly said following Jasper Philipsen’s win. “What a job by Mathieu van der Poel, delivering Jasper Philipsen at the perfect moment.”
Philipsen wins stage three at the Tour de France
Jasper Philipsen has done it, the Alpecin-Deceuninck boys did a perfect job there. There was a moment of concern in the final straight as Philipsen veered around to the tight while Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) got squeezed out, but no issues with that from me. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was runner-up, with Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) in third. Fabio Jakobsen will have been disappointed yo have finished fourth after his Soudal-Quick Step team-mates did some huge turns in the finale, while Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), who finished in sixth place, will be encouraged with his performance which bodes well for the future sprint stages.
8km to go
Kasper Asgreen is pulling hard on the front for Soudal-Quick Step. Mark Cavendish gets a wee push from a team-mate, still in the mix but about 15-20 wheels down on the Soudal-Quick Step, Lotto-Dstny and Jumbo-Visma boys. Nerves will be ragged in team cars and buses as the pace continues to increase.
15.5km to go
Mark Cavendish appears to be following the wheels of Alpecin-Deceuninck, he has lost his team-mates for now – three or four of them are about five wheels down on the Briton. Interestingly, he briefly soft-pedalled while looking around at the group, assessing his options. Always find it amazing how, at times, Cavendish manages to ease off the pedals a little and find a second or two here or there to look around, before launching a move. This is encouraging for Cavendish fans.
17km to go
Groupama-FDJ have numbers on the front, but they left their sprinter Arnaud Démare at home this year, opting instead to throw their collective weight behind general classification hope David Gaudu. Presumably, they are doing their best to keep the lightweight climber out of harm’s way here today.
20km to go
Another one of those little kickers, and riders are rising out of their saddles as the paces eases off a little. Bahrain Victorious, whose Fred Wright crashed earlier, have numbers near the front. Jumbo-Visma, Soudal-Quick Step, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek are all lined out in formation ready for the finale.
25km to go
Lotto-Dstny have a group of riders surrounding their sprinter Caleb Ewan down the right hand side of the road; Tour de France debutants Uno-X Pro are riding dead centre just to the right of Jumbo-Visma, while Soudal-Quick Step, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Lidl-Trek and Jayco-Alula are all well positioned. The bunch is all strung out towards the rear as some begin to struggle with the pace.
37.5km to go
And Laurent Pichon is subsumed by the peloton. For the first time all day, Ineos Grenadiers have shifted themselves towards the front of the peloton which is spread out across a fairly wide road. Wout van Aert has what looks like an ice pack stuffed down the rear of his jersey, keeping cool before the heat is turned on.
45km to go
Laurent Pichon is grimacing, grinding away on molars as he fights against gravity on one of these uncategorised climbs. The Arkéa Samsic rider’s lead has dipped to below a minute for the first time since lunchtime, think he knows the script here. His time out in front is looking numbered, although I suspect the peleton will be more than happy to keep him dangling out in front for a short while yet.
48.5km to go
Jasper Philipsen, one of the best sprinters in the world right now, was just spotted coasting along in the bunch looking relaxed. But can he win a third Tour de France stage win here today after taking two at last year’s race?
Of course, if this ‘win’ would have counted then he would be chasing a fourth victory. . .
54km to go
Laurent Pichon’s leads has been slashed to just over a minute. Soudal-Quick Step, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Lidl-Trek and Jayco-Alula all have numbers up near the front of the bunch which has controlled this stage to perfection. Sadly for Pichon, I cannot see him winning this stage, but instead may have to settle for the combativity prize.
62km to go
Tim Declercq (Soudal-Quick Step) is on the front of the peloton now. The man nicknamed ‘El Tractor’ is providing his team-mates and colleagues some serious shelter behind those broad shoulders of his. Laurent Pichon’s advantage, meanwhile, has dropped to a shade above two minutes now that Declercq is pulling hard in the bunch on behalf of his team-mate Fabio Jakobsen.
65km to go
Lots of punctures today, which is a little worrying as there were reports overnight that tacks had been found on the road. Given the warm reception the Tour has received in the Basque region, that’s quite a surprise. There is no evidence that today’s spate of punctures are the result of any shenanigans.
![CE](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341408459_16883948000730_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqPFvVqPVa-jjUuZiDGNQF5KxLVvedxkly_ogjmb2IRhA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
70km to go
Laurent Pichon is doing a grand job here, gaining around 45sec on the chasing bunch, which now has Quinn Simmons, resplendent in his stars and stripes jersey as the newly crowned US national road race champion, riding on the front – presumably on behalf of team-mate Mads Pedersen.
![Quinn Simmons](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341413286_16883970285730_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqlhYQqUJhlv11L5OcJr47Ay-EJOAa5fxhK-bWYweuCaY.jpeg?imwidth=350)
79km to go: And then there was one. . .
Having bolstered his account in the mountains classification, Neilson Powless sat up alongside his team car where he took on a mussette with a well-earned lunch inside it. Having played second fiddle to Powless throughout the stage, Laurent Pichon – who has just three wins on his palmarès – went off up the road in pursuit of some solo glory. The 36-year-old, as it stands, leads by around two minutes.
![NP](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341407228_16883937582240_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDFSbf6h79-3GmFCOV5aYk0WmvyVjMq1csOGjZrKWzG0.jpeg?imwidth=350)
91.5km to go
Neilson Powless crests over the Côte d’Orioko Benta ahead of Laurent Pichon to add two points to his account, before punching the air in celebration. The American has had a great few days at the Tour so far and is proving to be a big hit with the Basque fans who once again have been out in big numbers today.
![Neilson Powless](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341405739_16883929880710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqp_xKwerWcsDLBl4NVC2uECSH3Mlc7AQGiOPiSHxBj5M.jpeg?imwidth=350)
92.5km to go
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), a rider that will fancy his chances of the stage win today, was forced into stopping a few minutes ago while a team mechanic had a fiddle with his cleats. There is some debate over whether they were being lubed up, or tightened. But “why would they lube his cleats?”, you may ask. If they were squeaking, a drop of oil would sort that out.
![WVA](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341405385_16883926919700_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqivLWZ4RF0Y5QEpr5Uu-D_8nYvyzdLjjQlHcT1EFL_wY.jpeg?imwidth=350)
95km to go
Neilson Powless and Laurent Pichon are onto the final categorised climb of the day, the category three Côte d’Orioko Benta which is just 4.6km long an an average gradient of 6.7 per cent. Suspect your man Powless will be adding another two points to his mountains classification account shortly.
By the way, despite this being the final categorised climb, it is not the last time the riders will be fighting gravity today. There are a few nasty little kickers in the final 25 kilometres where the pure sprinters may be tested of the classics boys put their team-mates to work on the front.
103km to go: Thirsty work
Both Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen just dropped back to one of their team cars to take on some bottles. Must say, quite surprised to see that as I thought they may have wanted to save a few watts for later on this afternoon. A few minutes later, Ben O’Connor (Ag2r-Citroën), who has had a below par start to the Tour having finished here fourth in 2021, dropped a chain and now has team-mate Nans Peters for company as they work their way through the team cars an an attempt to chase back on.
110km to go: Big guns controlling the pace
It will surprise few to learn that Alpecin-Deceuninck have been riding on the front of the peloton for most of the day, while Soudal-Quick Step (Fabio Jakobsen) and Jayco-Alula (Dylan Groenewegen) are there or thereabouts.
![Alpecin-Deceuninck](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341397801_16883904877350_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
No sign of Astana Qazaqstan near the front, but as alluded to earlier they may be keeping their powder dry for another day – or simply allowing the classics specialists to do much of the heavy lifting this afternoon.
118km to go
The two-man breakaway of Neilson Powless and Laurent Pichon are pressing on, but their advantage has dropped to around two minutes. Powless added another two points to his mountains classification account atop the category three Col d’Itziar, while it sounds like Victor Lafay has dropped back into the warm embrace of the peloton. Things, by the way, are looking very relaxed in the bunch with lots of riders making the most of what looks like a relaxed opening half to the stage. Plenty of chatting and back slapping going on. Fairly certain that will not be the case once to pace winds up on the approach to the line in Bayonne.
Points make prizes . . .
No surprise to see Neilson Powless, Laurent Pichon and Victor Lafay take the lion’s share of the points, while Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), the 2019 world road race champion, won the sprint from the bunch to add 13 points to his account. Today could be a day to suit the Dane who has arrived at the Tour in fine form.
130km to go: As it stands. . .
It has been a fairly routine start to the stage, with two riders off up the road on their lonesome. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), who is the current leader in the mountains classification, wasted little time in forging on once the flag dropped, with Laurent Pichon (Arkéa Samsic) joing him for the ride. As expected, the American rider Powless took maximum points atop the côtes de Trabakua and Milloi to tighten his grip on the maillot à pois, the polka dot jersey worn by the leader in the mountains.
![Laurent Pichon (left) and Neilson Powless](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/03/TELEMMGLPICT000341395551_16883885635710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqiFzcKBD7XIPiRO_hUq50AJyB5NODmYFnU6-lwnc5gvU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The duo currently lead the peloton by a shade below three minutes, while Victor Lafay (Cofidis), who won yesterday’s stage, is riding through no man’s land having clipped off the front of the main bunch a few minutes ago. Presumably the Frenchman was thinking about the points at the intermediate sprint – he started today’s stage in the new-look green jersey as leader in the points classification.
Stage three preview
Hello and welcome to our live rolling coverage from stage three at the Tour de France, the 193.5 kilometre run from Amorebieta-Etxano in the heart of the Spanish Basque Coutry, over the border into France where the day concludes in Bayonne.
Following two cracking opening stages, today is widely expected to finish in a bunch gallop, but with almost 2,700 metres of vertical elevation on the menu it may not be one for the pure sprinters. That said, the vast majority of the climbing comes in the first half of the stage so the out-and-out fastmen may find the time to recover before they get down the the nitty gritty of the sprint.
Having seen Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sit up on the final climb on Sunday this observers’ mind immediately thought about today: is the big Dutchman thinking about having a crack today, or was he saving his legs to help out team-mate Jasper Philipsen? I’m thinking they will be the team to watch.
![Stage Three Profile- Tour de France 2023 route, teams and how to watch on TV](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cycling/2023/07/02/TELEMMGLPICT000339208303_16883157791640_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqBDstpyhIvbwHIX_SpCM5971tCg_71wMJunH2JvnXmDU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
From a British perspective, of course, there’s the small matter of Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and that record. It is 16 years on Friday since Cavendish first appeared at the Tour de France when the rosy-cheeked youngster barrelled his way around the London prologue. On that occasion Cavendish was a T-Mobile team-mate of Axel Merckx; today he will be hoping to pull one stage win clear of another Merckx – Axel’s father Eddy – and become the outright Tour’s all-time stage record holder with a 35th victory etched into his palmarès.
Whether or not Cavendish breaks Eddy Merckx’s record is, arguably, irrelevant. Despite being the joint record holder alongside Merckx Snr, Cavendish already stands in a league of his own with his legacy in the sport assured. He is, without question, the greatest road sprinter to Tour has ever seen.
While greats of the sport Merckx, Bernard Hinault, André Leducq, André Darrigade and Nicolas Frantz sit alongside or below Cavendish in the all-time list of stage winners at the Tour, just one – the Briton – has won all of his 34 stages on the same or similar terrain. Even the great French sprinter Darrigade – who at the age of 94 is expected to be at the finish line tomorrow – won four of his 22 stages on hilly terrain.
Anyway, whatever happens today, Telegraph Sport will be here to guide you through all of the key moments, taking you all the way to the line in Bayonne.
Live coverage here will get under way at 2pm (BST).