"If Jasper had been in Kaden’s wheel, he would have won the first stage" - Alpecin play down Jasper Philipsen’s winless start to 2026

Two sprint opportunities, two near misses, and no victory to show for it. On paper, that reads like a slow start to the season for Jasper Philipsen. Inside the Alpecin - Premier Tech camp, however, the tone is considerably calmer.

“If Jasper had been in Kaden’s wheel, he would have won the first stage,” sports director Frederik Willems said in conversation with Wielerflits, pointing not to a lack of form, but to marginal positioning details that proved decisive in the Volta ao Algarve.

Rather than questioning Philipsen’s condition, the team insist the difference between winning and missing out was measured in metres.

Alpecin arrived in Portugal expecting to contest the sprints. That expectation, according to Willems, was met. “The sprints were certainly not below expectations,” he explained. “We did hope for a stage win, of course, you always do when you start with one of the team leaders. Two small details went wrong in the sprints, which meant it did not turn out as it should have.”

In the opening opportunity, Kaden Groves was tasked with delivering Philipsen to the final metres. The lead-out itself functioned, but a split-second disruption changed the outcome. Arnaud De Lie came between the train at a crucial moment, and Philipsen was no longer in Groves’ wheel when the sprint launched.

The result was fourth place, not victory.

In the final stage, the pattern repeated in a different form. Again, a rider entered the train at a key point. Again, Philipsen was forced to make an earlier effort than planned. “Jasper had to make an extra early effort in order to still be able to sprint, but he no longer had the legs,” Willems said, adding that such fatigue was logical at this stage of the season.

Despite the winless return, Alpecin are refusing to attach wider meaning to the Algarve results. “It is a preparation race; this week went as it should,” Willems said. “The weather was good, and after the stages, the riders even did some extra training. Everything went as it should have towards next week.”

That perspective matters with Opening Weekend looming. For a rider whose spring will soon pivot toward Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and ultimately Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, early February is not the moment for panic.

“As a team leader, you obviously want to be able to sprint, and that did not happen twice. But we should not draw conclusions. His condition is as it should be,” Willems concluded.

For Philipsen, the margins in Portugal were narrow. According to his team, the foundations remain intact.

The difference between defeat and victory, they insist, was not power, just positioning.