"With a strong leader like Mathieu it makes the work much easier" - Jasper Philipsen sacrifices his Yellow Jersey to help Van der Poel take over Tour de France lead

Although he started the day in the Maillot Jaune, Jasper Philipsen gave up any hopes he may have had of keeping it for another day on stage 2 of the 2025 Tour de France, instead sacrificing himself in support of superstar teammate Mathieu van der Poel.

That proved a very wise move for the Alpecin-Deceuninck stars as well as in a thrilling finale, Van der Poel out-punched the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to not only win stage 2, but take over the race lead at the 2025 Tour de France and succeed Philipsen as the new Yellow Jersey.

"Mathieu was incredibly strong," an impressed Philipsen said with a smile in post-stage interview at the line, having done enough to keep his place in the top-10 on GC, now sitting 7th overall, just over half a minute down on his teammate. "I felt a bit less from yesterday, which was an incredibly tough day."

"I'm so glad he could take the win, the second one in a row for our team. I think everyone got a lot of confidence from yesterday," Philipsen added, clearly delighted to be passing on the Maillot Jaune to his good friend and teammate. "It wasn't easy but with a strong leader like Mathieu it makes the work much easier. I'm happy we could keep yellow in the team."