"I am looking for my top form. Hopefully it will be sometime in July" - Jasper Philipsen heads to Tour de France with confidence after sprint win in Belgium
Cycling
After his supremely impressive display at last year's Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen is heading back to the biggest race on the planet with renewed confidence and optimism after the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader took a dominant sprint win on stage 3 of the 2024 Baloise Belgium Tour.
"Last year the course was a bit more difficult and we also completed more laps; Today it was a bit more of a predicted bunch sprint," reflects the Belgian in his post-stage interview having fired to a dominant win ahead of Olav Kooij in the sprint for the line. "Just like yesterday, we did very well as a team. I'm glad I timed a little better today and was able to finish it that way."
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The 26-year-old was forced to settle for second place on stage 2 as Tim Merlier took the win, leaving some to doubt if Philipsen would be as dominant at the upcoming Tour de France as he was last year, when he left the race with the Green Jersey and four stage wins. Despite his disappointment on the prior stage however, Philipsen insists everything is going well in preparation for the 2024 Tour de France.
"Just like yesterday, the leadout went very well. We found each other again in the last kilometre and were able to take the lead. I'm very happy with how things are going. It's also nice that I can thank the team with a victory," he concludes with optimism. "We have worked hard in recent months, so I am looking for my top form. Hopefully it will be sometime in July."
Results: 2024 Baloise Belgium Tour stage 3
1 PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin-Deceuninck 20
2 KOOIJ Olav Team Visma | Lease a Bike 15
3 THIJSSEN Gerben Intermarché-Wanty 10
4 MERLIER Tim Soudal Quick-Step 5
5 DEGENKOLB John Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 3
6 TAMINIAUX Lionel Lotto Dstny
7 MOZZATO Luca ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
8 DUPONT Timothy Tarteletto-Isorex
9 STUYVEN Jasper Lidl-Trek
10 PEDERSEN Nicklas TdT-Unibet
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
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🇧🇪 Jasper Philipsen wins stage 3⃣ of the #BaloiseBelgiumTour! 👏
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