"I think a lot of riders may have lost their best legs there" - Jasper Philipsen believes skipping Paris-Nice + Tirreno-Adriatico has boosted Milano-Sanremo hopes
Cycling
Later this afternoon, Jasper Philipsen makes his last stop on the road to defending his title at Milano-Sanremo as the Belgian heads up the list of favourites at Nokere Koerse. After skipping both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico last week and opting for a training camp instead, Philipsen is confident he can produce his best level when it really matters.
"It was a good combination last year. Let’s hope it is the same again this year," Philipsen says in a pre-Nokere Koerse interview with Wielerflits, having finished on the podium twelve months ago, before of course going on to take Monument victory at Milano-Sanremo a few days after. "I think it is nice to get some competitive feeling after a training camp, to ride a nice race and to compete for the win.”
As mentioned, Philipsen opted against competing in one of the all-star stage races last week, instead opting to try and build up his level via a training camp in Spain. “In hindsight, it certainly wasn’t a bad choice, considering the weather conditions in Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice," he reflects positively. “In Spain the weather wasn’t great either, but it’s certainly better than having to ride 240 kilometres in the rain. I think a lot of riders may have lost their best legs there.”
"It's a good combination that we've chosen now," continues the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader. "Last year I had Tirreno-Adriatico in my legs and I felt very good. This year it's a bit different. We'll see."
Another thing that is a bit different this year, is the actual course of Nokere Koerse. In particular, the iconic finish of the race has been adapted in an attempt to improve rider safety. “I don’t really like the old finish. I think it’s no secret that the uphill finish, with cobblestones, doesn’t suit me best. I like this finish a bit more," Philipsen assesses. "It’s a fair finish, but timing is important against guys like Arnaud De Lie.”
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- My issue is that this site proactively solicits the commentary of one disgraced doper after another. It's like they can't find anyone who didn't leave the sport under a cloud of shame. I think I'm done with this site.critguy26-03-2025
- The finale of this race was an absolute mess, and the last crash that took out 1/2 of the field was caused when a double width road very suddenly funneled into a single lane, and riders had nowhere to go. I find it amazing how some of these courses get approved in the first place. So much for the UCI's campaign for improved rider safety, because if they actually cared, the organizers wouldn't have been allowed to run the finale on this parcours.
santiagobenites26-03-2025 - I hope Wout can come back. He has had 3 terrible crashes--not on par with Froome or Bernal, but at his level just a fraction of a percent is all that separates the grand champions of this new generation. Even if he is back all the way physically, those abrupt confrontations with pavement and mortality take a psychic toll, especially for a father of young kids.
Barney26-03-2025 - Everyone was so keen on free speech for a while, what happened ;-) But seriously, the problem is not so much that he gave his view as that someone follows it and spreads it, not totally unlike the schoolkids running US war games at present ;-)Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- We'll see what happens this year, hopefully he finds himself a little stronger.awp26-03-2025
- awp, the way and races he races, he probably doesn’t feel like he needs that many or specific race days before the Tour. His program isn’t very different from other years.Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- No, he just realises he’s not a one-day racer so why should he force himself?Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- Sacrificing E3 and G-W that were planned seems like he was hedging his options and only decided to do it after not winning MSR. Would he have planned to do all 5 and if so why hold back on announcing P-R if it wasn’t conditional? Guess people will get active with predictions now :-).Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- The MTB World title - there is no such thing. However, there are World titles in XCC, XCO, XCM, XCE, Enduro, Downhill......... He's after the World title in XCO, but could probably win the XCC title too, as his record is still better than anybody else, and he hasn't ridden an XCC World Cup since May 2021. Ten wins from twelve races says it all..... However, the XCO course is Crans-Montana is technical - he will surely need plenty of time back on the MTB, both training, and racing, otherwise it's going to be another doomed ambition.wipperman9526-03-2025
- Sweet. I wonder who's up on the next episode of Disgraced Ex-Doper Offers an Unsolicited Opinion?critguy26-03-2025