Jasper Philipsen wins Stage 17 of Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar protects lead

Key Points:

• Jasper Philipsen secured his first Tour de France stage win on Stage 17, with strong support from teammate Mathieu van der Poel, who controlled the pace and counterattacks in the final kilometers.
• Defending champion Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall lead by more than 4½ minutes over Remco Evenepoel, while teammate Adam Yates struggled but narrowly avoided elimination.
• Stage 17 was the last sprinters' opportunity before the race enters the Alpine stages, featuring multiple breakaways and aggressive attacks, including a late solo effort by Jasper Stuyven that was caught just before the finish.
• Philipsen's victory tightened the competition for the green jersey, with Mads Pedersen still leading but Philipsen closing the gap to 445 points versus Pedersen's 452, and Biniam Girmay in third place.
• The UCI defended its use of unannounced night-time doping tests despite criticism, emphasizing the importance of anti-doping efforts even as such measures disrupt riders' rest, following incidents involving Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.