Traksel continues his story. "If Van der Poel had not been there, Philipsen probably would not have won. It feels like his team and he also feels that responsibility to do this for his teammate. And that makes sense, because Philipsen is also important for the Dutchman. He takes some of the pressure off Van der Poel."
Jeroen Vanbelleghem agrees with his colleague and also thinks that Philipsen should stay at
Alpecin-Deceuninck. "Philipsen will make a decision after the classics. But I don't think any other team is better for him in terms of sport. Only financially he would benefit from another team."