Jasper Philipsen claimed his second Tour de France stage victory in Pau after a series of unsuccessful attacks nearing the race's end. He successfully navigated through an intense final kilometer to outpace Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert from Visma Lease-a-Bike.
As the peloton approached its last five kilometers, Vingegaard's team was focused on safeguarding their leader, Tadej Pogacar as well as Remco Evenepoel also aimed to avoid a similar misfortune that had occurred during Primoz Roglic's overall bid 24 hours before.
In the penultimate stage before entering the Pyrenees for two consecutive mountain finishes on Saturday and Sunday, sprinter teams were anticipated to be significant in the race, but volatile conditions led to multiple splits within the peloton. Despite only two fourth category climbs along the route, crosswinds disrupted riders from the start of the stage.
The relentless speed, numerous attacks and undulating terrain preceding Pau disrupted several leading sprinters' hopes, including Mark Cavendish, who was left behind after being swept up in a smaller group due to his participation in earlier crosswind-induced breakaways. This marked another disappointing day for the record holder of that stage, who found himself trailing shortly before Pau, having been affected by previous crashes during consecutive stages.
Primoz Roglic's 2024 Tour de France journey came to a premature end after sustaining injuries from two separate incidents, with his team deciding not to enter him in the final stage. "Primoz underwent careful examination by our medical team following yesterday's and this morning's stages before making the decision," said Bora Hansgrohe team spokesperson prior to the start of the 13th stage in Agen.
The virus, which had previously impacted the race, also continued to affect competitors as Juan Ayuso from UAE Team Emirates withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 result. Vingegaard, meanwhile, opted to wear a face mask for personal safety reasons at the beginning of this stage.
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