[imagesource: Twitter / @itvcycling]

Just making it to the starting line of the Tour de France takes dedication and physical endurance the likes of which most of us will never understand.

I can’t blame Belgian Jasper Philipsen for celebrating winning stage four of the Tour in Calais, the first of his career and his finest cycling achievement to date.

Except for one rather glaring mistake on his part – he didn’t actually win because fellow Belgian Wout van Aert crossed the finish line a good few seconds ahead of him.

That’s van Aert with the wing celebration and then Philipsen in the chasing pack, unaware he’s competing for second:

Jasper Philipsen??? pic.twitter.com/MCdQiFuYOP

— GoncaloDias17 (@goncalo_diass17) July 5, 2022

A slightly longer video for more context, complete with Philipsen admitting that he will need to learn to laugh at himself about this one:

When you thought you won

“For five seconds, maybe less, I thought that I had won. That was nice. Then I saw him and I also heard them laughing behind me. Now I can also laugh with it. It’s the way it is. I have to live with it. It’s a pity.” – Jasper Philipsen#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/mPQ3XWxvvq

— bet365 AUS (@bet365_aus) July 6, 2022

I’ll soften the blow and point out that both celebrations were actually worthy of a stage win:

A first at the Tour de France today 😲

We had not one but two winners! 😱#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/SR34uxdp4A

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 5, 2022

Philipsen spoke with Cycling Weekly post-race:

“On the climb I never saw him riding in front, it’s a disappointment for sure,” Philipsen [said]…

“It will make funny images in the end. I didn’t want this though so it’s a bit s**t 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.”

To his credit, he poked fun at himself on social media not long afterwards:

Well, @WoutvanAert, as you can see, I’m really happy with a 2nd spot. ‍♂️ #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/3kACLauNb4

— Jasper Philipsen (@JasperPhilipsen) July 5, 2022

This opened the door for Italian Alberto Bettiol to chime in. Last month, Bettiol fell into the same trap when celebrating what he thought was a stage victory at the Tour de Suisse.

He’s glad someone else has stepped up to the plate:

Happy to pass you the baton @JasperPhilipsen https://t.co/uH3FprlcGf

— Alberto Bettiol (@AlbertoBettiol) July 5, 2022

At least Philipsen can rest easy in the knowledge that his blunder will never be quite as infamous as Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten’s misjudged celebration at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, who mistakenly thought she had won gold in the women’s cycling road race.

[source:cyclingweekly]