“I’ve reached the top of the pyramid” - Alpecin teammate recalls his first camp with Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen
Cycling
Jonas Geens had spent just one season at ProTeam level when he joined Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen at Alpecin - Premier Tech. He’d already been impressed by the riders he’d worked with at Team Flanders - Baloise, but seeing his two new leaders ride at his first Alpecin training camp gave him a different idea of what the top level looked like.
“When I joined Team Flanders - Baloise in 2025, I was already impressed by Lindsay De Vylder and Jules Hesters. So you can imagine what it was like for me to become teammates with Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen,” Geens told Wieler Revue. “When I saw them ride at that first training camp, I thought, ‘I’ve reached the top of the pyramid now.’
“And at the same time I thought, ‘Wow, you two really are that good…’ Everyone on the team is already at a high level, but those two are still a long way above it. I’m proud I get to ride for them.”
The Belgian started racing at 23, after a persistent injury had put an end to his ambitions as a runner and he’d completed his studies. He spent a year at Continental level and a season with a French amateur club before joining Team Flanders - Baloise at 26. Geens and De Vylder moved to Alpecin together, and Geens made his Tour of Flanders and Giro d’Italia debuts in his first WorldTour season.
“I’ve had a consistent season, and moving to Alpecin - Premier Tech definitely had something to do with that,” he said. “I went on three altitude training camps in 2026. Before this year, I’d only trained at altitude once, on my own. There were times when I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at the team.”
Matthieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen at start Middelkerke Wevelgem
Geens helps Philipsen win In Flanders Fields
Van der Poel and Wout van Aert went clear on the final ascent of the Kemmelberg at In Flanders Fields, the race formerly known as Gent-Wevelgem. The bunch caught them under the flamme rouge, and Alec Segaert made one last attack before being reeled in in the final few hundred metres. Geens and Florian Senechal worked the lead-out for Philipsen, who beat Tobias Lund Andresen and Christophe Laporte to give Alpecin its first win in the race.
Read also
“That day was so cool,” Geens said. “It confirmed for me that I’m a solid Classics rider and that I bring something to Alpecin - Premier Tech. “The Roodhooft brothers complimented me afterwards. That was nice to hear because this is exactly the kind of work I want to build on. Being a lead-out rider suits me.”
Geens spent his first years in cycling trying to earn a place in the professional peloton. In Alpecin’s lead-out, he’s found a job he wants to make his own.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026 - Many Europeans say that Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia are one of the most beautiful countries in Europe known for their stunning landscapes because of the Alp mountains, green forests, clean rivers and lakes and national parks.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment