Tour de France rider left embarrassed after celebrating thinking he won stage

Tour de France star Jasper Philipsen was left with egg on his face after he thought he had won Stage 4 of the Grande Boucle.

The Belgian celebrated wildly after he crossed the finish line in Calais to claim – what he thought – was his maiden Tour stage win. However, unbeknownst to Jasper Philipsen, Wout van Aert had crossed the line eight seconds earlier.

Fans were left baffled at Philipsen's inability to spot Van Aert's bright yellow skinsuit, less than 100m up the finishing straight. But the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter was able to see the funny side of the situation after the stage.

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He said: “I thought I had won but then I saw Van Aert in front and I never knew he was in front, so yeah. I felt good but at the moment I’m just a bit disappointed.

“On the climb, I never saw him riding in front, it’s a disappointment for sure. Yeah for four or five seconds I honestly thought I won, it will make funny images in the end.

"I didn’t want this though so it’s a bit s*** also. I just didn’t know he [Van Aert] was in front. I also never heard on the radio so yeah that’s a shame and why I sprinted for the win."

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Van Aert had put on one of the most impressive displays in recent memory – with help from his Jumbo-Visma team – when he rode everyone off his wheel on the final climb of the day.

With a Red Bull helmet, Van Aert grew wings and flew to the finish to retain his yellow jersey. The Belgian had finished second in the opening three stages, and finally went one better on Monday.

Including last year's race, Van Aert's last six-stage finishes at the tour read: 1-1-2-2-2-1.

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