Jasper Philipsen: "I started a little too early, but I had no choice"

Jasper Philipsen is drawing closer to a win at the Tour de France, however he wasn't able to tick the box today as he sprinted to third place in Sønderborg.

The Belgian sprinter told Sporza at the end of the day: “It was still tight at the end. But when I started, I saw Wout with his lead-out still freewheeling, while I was already sprinting full into the wind. At that moment I knew it was going to be very difficult to win. I started a little too early, but I had no choice.”

Philipsen endured another complicated sprint, however this time with better positioning. He didn't manage to have good timing on his dash to the line though, as his early sprint saw him loose the speed he needed at the end to take the win - which ended up going to Dylan Groenewegen. “I wouldn't say that, but in the last corner they came in, very quickly. I was in the wheel with Jakobsen, I hoped maybe he would start early. But that didn't happen," he said, having seen the Dutch sprinter loose his positioning.

"Because I was stuck on the right, I had to turn left. I did what I couldn't have done yesterday because I was frustrated that I couldn't really sprint," he said. “Now I was forced to engage. We knew then that it was difficult to be the first to finish. I think I had the legs to win anyway. I don't think I should be inferior to those men in the sprint, but it all has to go well," he concluded.