"I can see that I am now reaching my best level" - Two defeats in Belgium don't bother Jasper Philipsen with view to Tour de France
Cycling
Jasper Philipsen has lost a bunch sprint to Tim Merlier for the second time this week at the 2024 Baloise Belgium Tour. Yet the leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck, who managed to grab one stage himself on Friday, is not worried about the main goal of the upcoming summer.
"I would have liked to win, but I must also be honest that Tim was faster today," was Philipsen's first reaction after his second place in the bunch sprint in Brussels. It was dropped off well in the last bend by the Alpecin-Deceuninck train, but was still reassembled by Merlier.
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The fact that he has suffered two sprint defeats does not worry him. "Everything is going well towards the Tour. We got our lead out on track, everyone knows what to do. I can see that I am now reaching my best level," Philipsen blames himself. "The green jersey and stage victories are the goal, we will do our best for that."
Philipsen will have a final test next week before he travels to the Grand Départ in Florence - the National Championships in Zottegem. "I always ride championships to win. We have a strong team across the board, so I hope to compete for the title," he says.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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