Prior to the Grand Départ, Fabio Jakobsen hinted that the first standard sprint would take place in Bordeaux. On paper, the flattish stage 7 definitely suits the pure sprinters and power will be required to reach the famous Quinconques square in first position but after six stages, things are already different than what the protagonists had in mind in Bilbao. Jakobsen himself sustains injuries since he heavily crashed on the autodrome of Nogaro. On that occasion, Caleb Ewan has lost his lead-out man Jacopo Guarnieri. Phil Bauhaus emerged as a new threat for the established sprinters and Jasper Philipsen took a lot of confidence in winning the first two bunch sprint finishes in 2023 as well as the last two in 2022. The Belgian has the physical characteristic to win in Bordeaux as well at the end of a long sprint on a slightly false flat downhill. He also enjoys the luxury of being led out by Mathieu van der Poel. It’s the big return of the Tour de France to Bordeaux, the city that has welcomed the race on most numerous occasions except for Paris. The last sprint in Bordeaux was won by Mark Cavendish in 2010. Historically, it’s not always a bunch gallop in the capital city of the Aquitaine but this time around with so many teams focused on this kind of finish, any other outcome would be an enormous surprise.
