Philipsen on fire at Baloise Belgium Tour, doing "good training for the Belgian Championship"

Jasper Philipsen will have his main goals of the summer coming up very soon, and at the Baloise Belgium Tour he's been putting on a strong set of performances which show off his promising form.

After four stages the Belgian sits tenth in the overall classification, after winning the bunch sprint on the second stage, and defending himself in the time-trial aswell as the hilly stages the race had to offer. The Alpecin-Fenix rider finished the opening day in third and has climbed very well, a good sign towards the Tour de France where that will increase his chances of taking a stage win.

“A good training for the Belgian Championship. I have completed an excellent altitude training course. This heavier stage was another nice extra. Now we take the time to recover towards the BC and Tour," he added - noting that the upcoming national championships are also a major goal. 

"Although we will still try to win the final stage of this Baloise Belgium Tour, of course," he pointed out though, having won the first and only bunch sprint of the race. This one will have a special taste though: "Arrival in Beringen, about ten minutes from my home in Ham. But above all, the local lap has been slightly adjusted compared to last year and now literally passes through our village center in Ham, where I live. The supporters will already be on post. It will be fun," he concluded.