Netcompany INEOS put in a front-foot and attacking performance on stage 17 of the Tour de France. The team enlivened the stage, with a mentality which was encapsulated by Josh Tarling and his late attack in the final kilometre.
The Welshman launched an acceleration under the flamme rouge in Voiron, but with a host of sprinters in tow, would be hauled back on the finishing straight.
The team took an active approach to the stage, consistently putting riders up the road into moves across the 174.7-kilometre parcours.
In a day that constantly evolved, Michał Kwiatkowski was able to bridge across to the lead and then push on as part of a six-man group with 60km to go. The move was reeled in by the peloton with 15km remaining, but not before Jasper Stuyven (Soudal - QuickStep) had pushed clear solo briefly on the run-in.
Earlier, Tarling and Egan Bernal had formed part of a breakaway move. Their group was briefly joined by the yellow jersey as the peloton split behind, but further accelerations from Tarling helped force the breakaway back up the road.
In the end the race came back together as a large breakaway contested the sprint, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - PremierTech) claiming his first win of the race. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) retained his grip on the yellow jersey ahead of a trio of mountain stages.
