Jasper Philipsen bounces back to top form with stage 2 win at Baloise Belgium Tour 2025

Alpecin-Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen has bounced back from stage 1 disappointment to take a storming stage 2 win at the 2025 Baloise Belgium Tour, boosting his confidence ahead of the upcoming Tour de France.

Six riders got up the road and gave the peloton something to chase as part of the breakaway on stage 2, but with 43 kilometres still to go, the attackers had been swallowed up by the main bunch. Given there was still so long to go before the end of the day though, a number of riders attempted to launch counter attacks following the catch of the early break, reigniting the racing at the head of the race.

Into the final 25km, a trio of Wessel Mouris, Olivier Godfroid and Axel van der Tuuk had built up a small margin out in front of the peloton. By 10km to go however, they were still around 30 seconds clear, giving the peloton something to worry about. Leading the peloton's chase were Uno-X Mobility, and Rasmus Tiller was riding so hard, not only did he catch the break, but he was actually causing splits in the bunch behind.

Into the final kilometre however, things were largely all back together. Then came the sprint and in the fight for the stage win, UAE's Juan Sebastian Molano was perfectly positioned initially. But once the sprints opened there was no stopping Jasper Philipsen, who emerged the quickest.