Jasper Philipsen happy with Mathieu van der Poel's partnership at 2024 Tour de France - "Seeing how successful it was last year, we can really use him again"
Cycling
Jasper Philipsen is set to lead Alpecin-Deceuninck at the Baloise Belgium Tour which starts this Wednesday and then again at the Tour de France. In the latter, he will be able to count on the support of Mathieu van der Poel once again, a partnership that worked to perfection in the sprints of the 2023 Tour.
"We actually adopted a somewhat similar approach as last year. I first spent time in Tenerife, completing the necessary altitude training, and then we went to La Plagne for a high-altitude camp with the team," Philipsen said in a press conference, with words collected by In de Leiderstrui. "From there, we basically came straight here, so we haven't been idle. Towards the Tour, we have been working on reaching peak condition."
Philipsen has been out of competition since Paris-Roubaix, two months out of competition after a spring where he won his first monument at Milano-Sanremo. He has the Tour in mind now as the next goal: "I haven't thought about whether I will ride all the way to Nice if I'm not in green, so that will have to be decided at the moment itself. I think some sprinters will choose not to finish, focusing instead on events like the Olympics."
Philipsen will be racing the Paris event for the Belgian national team which is set to have several leaders. After winning Sanremo and finishing twice second at Paris-Roubaix, he has proven himself as a rider capable of tackling the long-distance races with a few difficulties. The course in Paris is perhaps too hard for him, but he will certainly be a card. His summer schedule begins at the five-day Baloise Belgium Tour where he is expected to take a win once again.
"I always need that race rhythm anyway. It's good to race again for five days now, aiming for victory and building up those automatic movements. Last year, Mathieu [van der Poel] was there, which was of course nice for both of us," he continued. "And also for me, with the sprints. This year, we have to compensate for that with some guys who are going to the Tour and some who aren't. Anyway, it's good to be racing again."
"You always aim as high as possible, but we're starting with maybe one win. Anyway, it's good to get a reference of where you stand. You know part of it from training, but I haven't raced for a long time," the Belgian admits. "That race rhythm is a bit lost after two months without racing. This is a preparation race, but I always try to compete to win. I'm excited to go full throttle for five days, so then it's about seeing how far I can go in the standings. But that's without any expectations."
Philipsen will be having a more modest leadout in this race but in July he will count with Mathieu van der Poel's support. Last year, besides the points classification, Philipsen won four stages (and would've likely won more if the breakaway hadn't experienced such success in the second half of the race).
"We did some sprint training. It went well, so I don't think there are any surprises. A bigger surprise for me was that Mathieu's schedule is also focused on the Tour this year, so I was very happy about that," Philipsen admits. "Seeing how successful it was last year, we can really use him again."
"The course didn't seem too bad to me; it could be something where I can do well," he said of the Olympic Games. "I hope to be there, but that also applies to the European Championships in Hasselt."
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Raise thine hand if the money you have made for retirement slips away on poor investments.Most of us will outlive our financial comforts because we don't have the financial acumen to ensure a comfortable lifelong retirement and that is a statistical fact not my opinion.Many millionaires have pissed their money away or had it taken away by so called conniving "financial advisors".The world of wealth is a dangerous place that most of us will never experience nor appreciate.
Brucegel15-11-2026 - You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
Loading
Two great stage races this week. On home soil, @belgium_tour 🇧🇪 is on the menu. Last year we took 2 stage wins and the overall victory. In 🇦🇹 we will ride #Oberosterreichrundfahrt. Also there we were successful last year. These are both lineups. Good luck🤞 #alpecindeceuninck
2 Comments