Jasper Philipsen has capped a fine team performance to win stage 17 of the Tour de France, where Tadej Pogačar protected his overall lead

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen crosses the finish line to win the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Chambery and finish in Voiron France, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

VOIRON, France (AP) — Jasper Philipsen capped a fine team performance Wednesday to win stage 17 of the Tour de France, where Tadej Pogačar protected his overall lead.

Mathieu van der Poel led his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Philipsen to his first stage victory of this Tour by controlling the pace and containing counterattacks through the last kilometers.

Philipsen finished just ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij.

Pogačar maintained his lead of just over 4½ minutes over Remco Evenepoel, the winner of the previous two stages.

But it was a bad day for Pogačar’s UAE Emirates XRG teammate Adam Yates, who appeared to be struggling and was dropped way back.

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Belgium's Jasper Philipsen, left, sprints to crosse the finish line of the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Chambery and finish in Voiron France, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen crosses the finish line to win the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, with start in Chambery and finish in Voiron France, Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)