Jasper Philipsen escapes yellow card but not relegation in the opening sprint of UAE Tour: "I'm going to have to adapt to these new rules"

The first sprinter battle at the stacked UAE Tour went in favor of Jonathan Milan who was clearly superior to Jasper Philipsen in the uphill sprint near Liwa Palace. The Belgian speedster did everything to the best of his abilities but eventually couldn't pass the Italian and an unfortunate maneuver in final meters means that Alpecin-Deceuninck won't get to celebrate a second place either.

"It wasn’t a deliberate maneuver," Philipsen emphasized in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "You can see it on the images: I look over my right shoulder and then I swerve to the left. I didn’t realize I was doing something wrong. I thought we were two clear. I hadn’t seen Finn Fisher-Black. This isn’t nice, but who am I to decide this? I have to accept this."

"I was waiting and waiting for my moment," Philipsen reflects on his sprint. "Tadej Pogacar went from very far, Jonathan Milan too. I waited until 100 meters, but that was still too far. When I came into the wind, I was catching my breath and had to sit down. It was two solid minutes on that climb. I pushed some serious values. I was indeed tired."

Philipsen escapes a first yellow card, which means he is not on the alert in the upcoming sprints in the UAE Tour. Still, it is a wake-up call for the sprinter. "I have to be even more aware that I have to be even more alert. But in the heat of the battle and when you are completely à bloc, that is not easy. But I will try to get it into my head."

"There are new rules and I'm going to have to adapt. Again, this is not fun, but I have to be happy that I had a good first day on the bike. My legs were good, but I crashed into someone who is better."