"Maybe if we did the sprint two times, I would win one of them": Tobias Lund Andresen left with mixed feelings after agonising second place at Gent-Wevelgem

Jasper Philipsen may have taken the top step at In Flanders Fields - From Middelkerke to Wevelgem, but the reduced bunch sprint was only made possible by a monumental chase behind the scenes. After his team successfully hunted down a late breakaway from Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, 23-year-old Danish talent Tobias Lund Andresen sprinted to a highly impressive second place.

The podium finish was something Lund Andresen would almost certainly have accepted before the race. Almost. "Yeah, I think it's a really good second place in a Classic. It's not something that comes for free. So yeah, I'm really happy. If you had told me I would finish on the podium before the race, I would probably take it. But of course, it's bittersweet when you feel like you're so close to the win," he said in a post-race interview.

When asked what the difference was between him and Philipsen in those final metres, Lund Andresen was honest about the margins involved. "Oh, maybe just making a decision a bit earlier in the sprint if I should have opened it or... Yeah, I mean, it's margins. Maybe if we did the sprint two times, I would win one of them." It is the kind of fine detail that separates winning and losing at the very highest level, and the Dane clearly knows exactly where those centimetres were lost.

What made the result even more impressive was the platform his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates built for him throughout the day. The plan from the start was to fully focus on Lund Andresen, with his teammates controlling the race and bringing back the dangerous moves ahead of the sprint. The fact that they managed to reel in both Van Aert and Van der Poel after the two went clear together on the final climb was something even Lund Andresen could barely believe.

"I think we were the best team today. They were so good. The first team to ride all the time. And to bring back Wout and Mathieu... I think that's something you would say, 'Ah, that's not even possible.' So they did amazing, of course with the help of other teams as well," he said.

Lund Andresen was also asked whether he could truly take in what he has achieved so far in 2026. Race after race, the young Dane has delivered, with an entire team built around him and the results to justify that faith. He has three victories this season, all of them at World Tour level.

"No, it's been a lot better than I also imagined. I'm not going to stand here and say, 'Ah, I knew this all last year.' So I'm really happy with my progression, and yeah, the team has a lot of belief in me and puts a lot of time into me. So I'm happy that I can also perform," he said.

With his confidence soaring, Lund Andresen has one more immediate target on the cobbles: Dwars door Vlaanderen this Wednesday. After that, he will head back to Denmark for a well-earned break before refocusing his efforts toward the Giro d'Italia.