Jasper Philipsen praises Mathieu van der Poel's leadout towards Renewi Tour stage win: "The goal was to win a stage this week"

Over the past two seasons Jasper Philipsen has arguably been the most successful sprinter in the peloton but this year he has met his match. Jonathan Milan beat him directly in the first two sprints of the Renewi Tour; but today the Belgian got his revenge after a strong leadout from Mathieu van der Poel.

“It’s really nice to be here today. The goal was to win a stage this week. I’m glad that we succeeded today. What went wrong the first two times? I got a flat tire in the final phase of the first sprint (stage 1, ed.), and my chain came off in the second sprint (stage 3, ed.)," he states in a post-race interview. "But I was able to do my sprints there. I was beaten by a very strong Milan. I’m glad that we were able to win today. The team deserved it. We rode hard. I’m glad that we can end the day with a victory.”

It was a very simple stage with a very tense finale. Lidl-Trek nailed the positioning but a very sharp and tight final corner screwed the Italian's plans; Jonathan Milan lost a lot of speed on the left side of the road whilst Philipsen was on the right side of the road with Mathieu van der Poel. “The last corner was 450 meters from the finish. If I still have Mathieu in front of me there, and he can use his strength to the full, then I know that it will be difficult to beat us anyway," thew Belgian argues. "Today it went well. I’m glad that we were able to play it out like that.”

With Milan virtually out of the picture due to that bad move, Philipsen had a clear run-in to the line, sprinting and with ease beating Christophe Laporte who was in his wheel but with nowhere near the same speed. It was Philipsen's first win of the week, and a much needed.

“I think it was pretty nervous all day. I think we rode an average of almost fifty. So I can’t say we were strolling today. But the peloton put the blocks on in the last few kilometers, to keep the teams in position. Those who were there were good. I did hear a crash in the last kilometer, I hope everyone is okay," he continues.

Mathieu van der Poel will be the team's priority tomorrow in the circuit around Geraardsbergen; however the sprinter himself is a card to play: “I think we are still quite close in the classification with three riders: Mathieu, Soren and me. Tomorrow is definitely going to be a very difficult day, with very warm temperatures. I expect some time differences tomorrow.”