"It's a shame that Mathieu doesn't win, but I think we have already ridden some nice races" - Jasper Philipsen content with Alpecin-Deceuninck tactics despite Gent Wevelgem disappointment

In Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, Alpecin-Deceuninck has two genuine contenders for any one day race they enter. After victories at Milano-Sanremo and the E3 Saxo Classic however, the duo couldn't quite add Gent Wevelgem to their successes.

In the end, van der Poel came a close second behind Mads Pedersen in a two-up sprint for victory. With the Philipsen in the bunch closely behind though, there were some questioning if van der Poel should have been doing as much work with Pedersen on the front. Despite this, Philipsen is content with the tactics played out by his team on the day.

“It is certainly not easy to win, Pedersen is a very strong rider. With him at the front you know it won't be easy to win the race,” Philipsen assesses and as he notes himself, the sprint ace didn't manage to win the sprint for third anyway.

“I was in a good position in the Moeren, but it was still far. When that group went to the Kemmelberg I was a bit surprised, but it was not a bad situation for us. Mathieu sat at the front. We didn't really have to ride." Philipsen continues. “The riding was not very fast, so a fairly large group was able to sprint for third place. It's a shame that Mathieu doesn't win, but I think we have already ridden some nice races.”

Finally, similarly to his teammate, Philipsen had words of praise for the eventual race winner and his Lidl-Trek team. “They were really strong, also well represented at the front on the Kemmelberg. I think it was a good situation for us. In principle you have a 50% chance of winning, but Pedersen was very strong today.”