Jasper Philipsen was the fastest this afternoon at the
Omloop van het Houtland, taking his eighth win of the season as he beat some very strong competition in the Belgian semic-classic.
"Like last year, I'm in good shape around this time," Philipsen said in a post-race interview as he celebrated his triumph. "I want to try to end the season in a good way and get some nice results. These kind of one-day races suit me well. I'm happy I could finish off my teammates' work."
The
Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was in the wheel of Arnaud De Lie when the youngster launched his final sprint, and in the slightly irregular pavement in Lichtervelde he had the power to cross the line first.
He beat Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Groenewegen to the win, a quality field, and riders which he has recently been facing in Belgium as the sprinters did not have a World Championships route that allows them to ambition a result. The coming weeks are set to have more local races, in which Philipsen can target last year's nine wins.