Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) heads to Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday having a look to get again on his best sport in bunch sprints after he suffered an extraordinary however slender defeat in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday.
Probably the most prolifically a success WorldTour racer of 2023 with 19 wins, Philipsen conquered Milano-San Remo and took 3 Excursion de France phases in 2024, in addition to successful a best Belgian one-day race remaining spring, the Vintage Brugge-De Panne.
Then again, whilst each he and his crew carried out rather well thru maximum of Nieuwsblad, he got here up simply quick within the last kilometres, claiming 3rd at the back of marvel winner Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) and up-and-coming Frenchman Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep).
“I had to come from a bit too far back,” he informed Sporza.be afterwards, including he had adopted Wout Van Aert (Visma-Rent a Motorbike) for a very long time within the sprint for the road as a result of he concept he can be more energizing.
But if push got here to shove, he added, “I didn’t really have my sprint legs. Maybe I forgot a little bit how to win a sprint.”
Philipsen took a while in 2023 and 2024 to get his first victory of the season, together with his earliest wins coming in Tirreno-Adriatico each years.
Then again, after some near-misses in UAE, he and his crew did the whole thing proper in Omloop on Saturday, growing an overly unhealthy break up with 40 kilometres to head which left each the opposite best Belgian contenders, van Aert and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) at the incorrect aspect of the divide – and Philipsen forward.
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The bunch got here again in combination, however the Belgian sprinter then stayed effectively forward all of the excess of the general cobbled demanding situations of the day, the daunting Mur de Geraardsbergen and Bosberg, and he mentioned afterwards he would have signed previously for a podium end in this sort of difficult race.
Philipsen used to be well-positioned all through Saturday’s race (Symbol credit score: Getty Pictures)
“Can I live with my 3rd place?” he mentioned. “Certainly. If you had said this beforehand, I would have been satisfied.
“After all you hope to win a dash, however I wasn’t sturdy sufficient on the finish. I felt that Soren used to be the most powerful. It’s important to settle for that.”
Curiously enough, if Philipsen did win Kuurne, he would be producing an identical set of results to compatriot van Aert last year in the Opening Weekend, with third in Nieuwsblad followed by victory in Kuurne.
Whether history does repeat itself, albeit for a different top Belgian contender, will only become clear on Sunday evening.
“I just have to figure out again how to win a sprint”, Philipsen told Nieuwsblad after Saturday evening, although he also confirmed his overall satisfaction with how he had managed to get over the toughest climbs in Omloop as well.
“Maybe it is something mental. A switch that I have to turn. I have to find the urge to win again.”
