Philipsen wins windy Tour de France opener as Evenepoel trapped in split
Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish in the northern city of Lille, his 10th Tour de France stage win crowned with a rare race lead for a rider usually chasing sprint points.
Title favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack.
But Vingegaard was on red alert as the split started and his explosive acceleration helped stun the peloton and leave his Visma team delighted with the damage done by the day's work with a 40-second advantage over several important rivals.
"It was our plan to use the wind at 20 kilometers and it worked," said Vingegaard.
Known for his resilience in the mountains, Vingegaard won the Tour in 2022 and 2023.
The 28-year-old grew up in a remote fishing community, racing into strong winds on the coastal roads in Denmark.
Defending champion Pogacar appeared flustered at the finish line.
"It was as frantic as we had expected, but when the split came fortunately I was near the front," said the 26-year-old Slovenian.
"I'm just happy Day 1 is done. Nine days to go before the first rest day."
Billed as the third favorite after finishing behind Pogacar and Vingegaard in his debut Tour in 2024, Evenepoel was in a somber mood at his team bus.
"We were asleep, we thought any danger was over," Evenepoel said of the split where both he and his team's sprinter, Tim Merlier, found themselves trapped just 20 km from the finish.
Around 40 riders in the first group contested the sprint, where one of the day's many falls happened.
Primoz Roglic and Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull, and Team UAE's Joao Almeida were also caught out in the blustery winds.
Another UAE man, Adam Yates, lost minutes, meaning Pogacar's two deputies are off the pace if something happens to the UAE star.
Africa's sole rider Biniam Girmay, winner of three stages in 2024, was second on the day as Philipsen got ahead of him with 100 meters to go.
But Girmay, winner of green points jersey in 2024, ended the stage with the white jersey for topping the classification among riders 25 and under.
Philipsen, however, was the man in yellow.
"It's a day I will never forget. This is why I have been getting up early and training hard each day," said Philipsen.
"What an experience! Those final kilometers, to be part of that," beamed the 27-year-old Belgian.
Fans packed the route in one of France's more modest regions, passing World War I memorials, red-brick houses and slagheaps from long-closed coal mines along the Belgian border.
Under overcast skies and with the temperature a manageable 22 degrees Celsius, the peloton cut a fast pace despite the windy conditions.
Racing toward an intermediate sprint over cobbles, escapee Benjamin Thomas slid sideways and took out his sole rival, Matteo Vercher, in one spectacular fall and the pair were still bickering when the peloton shot past them.
Former time-trial world champion Filippo Ganna was one rider who will take no further part after a clumsy fall on a corner.
The Italian would have been a contender on the lengthy Stage 5 individual time-trial, as well as key in the Ineos team's campaign to get veteran Geraint Thomas into the top 10 on his 14th and final Tour de France.
Philipsen, in yellow, will lead the peloton out for Sunday's second stage, a hilly 209 km route to the beaches of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
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