Jasper Philipsen's bid for six Tour de France stage wins and the 2023 green jersey took another hit Thursday when the Belgian was demoted from second place in the stage 6 sprint to Dijon.

The Belgian changed lines in the last 150 meters of the 163.5km sprint stage, blocking Wout Van Aert in the process. He followed the barriers to the finish line. Behind him, Van Aert appeared to be trying to gap alongside Philipsen, but was consequently forced to slow down and drop back from the sprint.

Along with stage winner Mark Cavendish, Philipsen had already been warned to sprint on Wednesday's stage 5.

The only words Philipsen uttered in public were angry words just after crossing the finish line.

"Fuck you!" !" he said after being slapped by an official Tour de France car as he crossed the finish line. After a few drinks of liquorice and a few seconds in the big leagues, he again said, "F*ck."

Philipsen immediately boarded the Alpecin-Desseuninck team bus, but refused to speak to the Dutch-speaking or international media. His partner, Melanie Pietermans, was allowed on the team bus to comfort Philipsen, but after Christoph Rudhoeft came out to speak, the team bus doors closed and drove away with a disappointed atmosphere.

"I got a call from the UCI with a message that he had been demoted. There was no other comment. It was just a simple message," Rudhoft told a scrum of media, including Cycling News.

"I saw the sprint. It was clear that the boarding was not in a straight line. Even when Van Aert came in a little bit, he was a little bit back. Everything was together; I don't think it was a maneuver that would justify a penalty 100%, but you can say that about both of them."

Philipsen was relegated to 107th place on stage 6 and fined CHF 500. He also lost 13 points for the green jersey, which he would have earned by finishing second in the stage. He now sits in fourth place with 85 points, 65 behind points leader Biniam Girmay.

"My first goal was to win the stage," he said. Today he rode well in the intermediates and came second in the sprint. He hasn't won yet, but he was right on schedule in the green. Now it's out of our hands. Now we have to wait and see what he can do."

The pressure on Alpecin Deceuninck is mounting. Last year, Philipsen won three races in the opening week, taking four stages and the green jersey. Rudhoeft, however, dismissed talk of pressure.

"Pressure," "Why does he need pressure?" Rudhoft retorted. He came second twice. It's not easy to win a stage. I think it's only the sixth stage or something. ......"

"Looking at the two chances he had, I don't think it was that bad of a result. He didn't win, but he's not the only one trying to win a sprint stage.

Philipsen's demotion is the latest in a series of punishments imposed on various riders in Wednesday's and Thursday's sprint stages.

The UCI's new "yellow card" punishment will take effect on August 1, but on Thursday morning, both Philipsen and Cavendish were reportedly given direct warnings by the race jury for their sprint wins at the end of stage 5.

On Wednesday's stage, German sprinter Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was demoted from 16th place for deviating from the line, and Davide Ballerini (Astana Kazakstan) was given a warning for "unsightly and inappropriate behavior at the finish and sporting damage to the image of the sport," meaning he was fined for stopping to watch his teammate Cavendish's record 35th stage win on the big screen.

Race officials appeared to be strictly following the rules, warning Cavendish for drafting a team car after he tried to return to the peloton after a mechanical on stage 6. He was subsequently given a 40-second time penalty and a fine of 200 Swiss francs, plus UCI points and a green jersey deduction.

The Astana sprinter explained what happened to Peacock after the stage and blamed the TV bikes for interfering with his pursuit.

"I had a mechanical problem. The chain got wrapped around and locked up under the bottom bracket," Cavendish said. "As I started to panic, the TV camera - this is the second time this camera has done this - came into the middle of the road and stopped the convoy from coming. As a result, the convoy was forced to the end of the road. [Television cameras are there to capture images, not to influence the race. When outside controls affect the race, panic sets in. That's something you can't prepare for."

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