"Jasper Philipsen cannot improve with any other team" - Contract extension with Alpecin-Deceuninck best for both parties according to experts

After months of speculation about his future, the latest transfer talk on the rumour mill seems to indicate Jasper Philipsen will turn down interest from elsewhere to extend his contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck.

"I think Philipsen fits perfectly with Alpecin-Deceuninck as a result, he finished 2nd in Paris-Roubaix last Sunday," analyses ex-pro Jan Bakelants for Sporza's Wielerclub Wattage podcast. "What Mathieu van der Poel did for Philipsen in Milano-Sanremo would happen in few other teams."

"I am 100 percent convinced that Philipsen cannot improve with any other team," agrees Classics legend Tom Boonen. "Jasper will also find himself in situations at Alpecin-Deceuninck where he will be at the front and Mathieu at the back. So stay with Alpecin-Deceuninck, I would say."

After taking more wins than anyone else in 2023, including multiple stages of the Tour de France and the race's Green Jersey, Philipsen has impressed again this year with a monument win at Milano-Sanremo and a second successive Paris-Roubaix podium behind his teammate, Mathieu van der Poel. Therefore, it's understandable that the Belgian has opted to stay put.