Alpecin - Fenix are yet to see Mathieu van der Poel return to competition, and with that scenario on the table the responsibility will fall on Jasper Philipsen to lead the team at the upcoming Milano-Sanremo, the longest race in professional road cycling.
The team told Wielerflits that Jasper Philipsen "should be able to race in Milano-Sanremo next Saturday." The Belgian is set to lead the team in the first monument of the season as he will look for a conservative race where he can be capable of dealing a decisive blow in a bunch sprint. His start to the season was impressive, having taken two stage wins and the points classification at the UAE Tour. At Paris-Nice he was looking to replicate that, however crashed on the only pan-flat stage that was well suited to him. Although having finished well in the hilly stages one and three, he later came down with illness like many more at the French race and had to abandon before the start of stage six.
Philipsen has only raced La Classicissima once and that was in his neo-pro year at UAE Team Emirates in 2019, where he rode in support of Alexander Kristoff and Fernando Gaviria and finished a distant 150th place. However that means he is not riding into unfamiliar terrain, and despite not being known for his climbing capacity, he is within the group of sprinters who on normal circumstances would be able to resist the Poggio relatively well positioned.
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)...
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