Jasper Philipsen completed "massive search" for Tour de France win in Carcassonne

Jasper Philipsen finished six times on the podium of Tour de France stages last year. He came into the 2022 edition looking to turn that into a win, and he finally did so for Alpecin-Deceuninck on the 15th stage of the race.

“It’s unbelievable. I’ve tried so many times… It worked out today," he told the media after the stage win. The Belgian team rode towards it's sprinter's ambitions once again today, putting in a lot of work to control the attacks on the day that were a threat from start to finish. Philipsen had no support towards the sprint, however his positioning skills earned him a strong position, and just as the catch was made on Benjamin Thomas, the win was suddenly available.

I thought Wout van Aert would be coming from behind. I got boxed in a bit before the final corner. I knew from last year that the finishing line would not come long after the last curve. It’s good that I could pass Mads [Pedersen]," he described. Philipsen carried the speed and took a strong win, one that is perhaps the highlight of his career.

It’s been a massive search for the victory at the Tour de France. I’m just proud that we can finally finish it off at stage 15 with the team. Everybody continued to believe that it was possible. I knew I had good legs. We just had to wait for the right moment and the right opportunity, and today was the day," he said emotionally. Philipsen will have two more opportunities to hunt for a win, however the weight is off the 24-year old's shoulders and for Alpecin as they got what they came for.