“The entire peloton is yearning for a sprint stage" - Alpecin have Tour de France stage 5 circled for Jasper Philipsen
Cycling
Alpecin-Premier Tech see the Tour de France stage 5 as tailor-made for them. After a sweltering and brutal few days, the heat might stay high but a bunch sprint is exactly what is needed for a suffering peleton.
That's at least what team manager Gianni Meersman thinks. With already four stages down and not a single opportunity for fast men such as Jasper Philipsen, prolific Tour stage winners Alpecin believe their time is now when it comes to chasing wins at La Grand Boucle.
Wednesday's stage 5 offers little resistance for the fast men, who are queuing up for a chance to open up the legs - with Tim Merlier, Biniam Girmay and Olav Kooij among the belgian's biggest challengers.
And Philipsen has been active despite the parcours not being in his favour. He made it into a breakaway on stage 4 to contest the intermediate sprint before retreating back to the peloton. His team believe that's a positive sign.
“The entire peloton is yearning for a sprint stage,” Meersman told HLN.
Van der Poel to lead out Philipsen
“It was about time for Jasper; the course wasn't favourable for him yet. But he isn't uncomfortable. The fact that he's joining the breakaway is a good sign.”
In a perfect world for Alpecin, their team have withstood the opening days and are knuckling down around Philipsen for a fast and furious finale. After all, it has worked a stunning ten times over the last four editions of the Tour. The team are confident they can make it at least eleven.
Classics specialist Mathieu van der Poel is the planned last man for Philipsen: “Normally we play the card with Mathieu van der Poel as lead-out; that would be ideal. We have a very strong train.”
For Philipsen, he's just relieved he can show his stuff in a race to the line. He takes confidence in his shape from his Tuesday breakaway exploits and believes being part of a breakaway of over 30 riders won't mean he has a bill to pay for the extra effort.
“It is beyond our control, but I am still glad that we can finally sprint,” Philipsen said.
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Philipsen confident ahead of sprint
He added: “I have confidence in my sprint, especially because I was able to join the breakaway quite efficiently. In a group of about thirty riders, rotating doesn't take much energy. I can't complain about my first days here.”
Team manager Philip Roodhooft knows that the team's Tour starts now. Describing the stage as 'tailor-made' for Philipsen, but doesn't know if the difficult opening week will be a hinderence or play in their favour.
He said: “It has been an atypical build-up. We will only see in the sprints whether this was a disadvantage. Everyone wants to win early. We haven't let any opportunities slip away; only now is this a stage tailor-made for us.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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