"Until April I am a classics rider, from May I am a sprinter" - 'Classics rider' Jasper Philipsen is not bothered by another defeat at UAE Tour
Cycling
Jasper Philipsen was not destined for a stage victory at this year's ultra-stacked UAE Tour. He put up a good fight against the other two fastest men on the planet, but couldn't quite crack both Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier at the same day. Second place was once again Philipsen's maximum on the last flat stage on Saturday.
"Tim came from behind at high speed. A fair sprint. I had nothing to say against it," were Philipsen's first reactions to Het Nieuwsblad after another podium in today's stage 6.
Three podium results (two after relegation in stage 1), are not what quite what he had come for to United Arab Emirates, but that doesn't worry the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider too much. "Winning would have been nice. But it is different now. The world keeps turning, because this race was not an A-goal," Philipsen points out.
The 26-year-old Belgian seems to be missing a few watts to compete against the best, perhaps a side-effect of increased training volumes? "I have trained very hard the last month," Philipsen agreed. "That is why I do not have the fastest sprinter's legs at the moment. I have a good basic speed, but I miss that extra punch or acceleration that Tim had here."
Focus on classics
But there's still a long way to go till Philipsen's main sprinter objective of the season: "In the Tour, those flashes will definitely have to be there. Then it will have to be a level higher in the sprints."
As he said half-laughing ten days ago: "Until April I am a classics rider, from May I am a sprinter." This approach should reward Philipsen in next month's races. "At the moment I am mainly looking at the classics. That is what I have worked towards the most. Then these results may not be illogical."
"I am happy with the feeling of the past week," Philipsen concluded. "But it is so difficult to draw conclusions from this. The stages here are too easy for that. It is never really hard. You ride here at an average of 150 watts, a bit of a cycling tourist can follow that. Soon, in Flanders, the racing will be very different." If everything goes according to the plan, nobody will remember some UAE Tour anymore.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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