A red-hot Philipsen challenges Van der Poel as Alpecin's GC option after Renewi Tour win: 'Right up my alley'

Last weekend, many eyes were on Mathieu van der Poel’s return to mountain biking in Les Gets, France. But while the Dutch rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech finished a strong second, his buddy and teammate Jasper Philipsen was tearing up the course a bit further north in Belgium.

4, 1, 2, 1, 1; these are Philipsen’s results in the five-day Renewi Tour in Belgium. The 28-year-old sprinter had already shown in the Tour de France that he was still in excellent form toward the end of the race, and that was certainly evident on home soil.

On the opening day, Philipsen had to let Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) pass him and finished “only” fourth. In stages 2 and 4, however, the Belgian struck gold in the bunch sprint. He would then go on to make an even bigger impression with his performances in stages 3 and 5.

In the third stage, officially the queen stage over the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Philipsen proved once again that he is more than just a sprint specialist. He was among the leaders at the top of the final climb and sprinted to a second-place finish.

He put on another impressive performance on the final day as well. In what is always a tough and explosive final day on the Renewi Tour, Philipsen withstood all the attacks and then struck again, completing a true hat trick.

The Renewi Tour wasn't the first stage race that Philipsen added to his list of victories in 2026. In June, he had already won the Baloise Belgium Tour, which turned out to be his very first overall victory in a stage race. The Renewi Tour followed two months later.

It’s a development that even Philipsen himself can no longer deny. He was already a classics specialist in addition to being a sprinter; now we can add week-long stage races to that list as well. He called it “a unique day” because the final stage was “very tough,” yet he still managed to win both the stage and the overall title.

Speaking to the Belgian media, Philipsen briefly touched on his future in stage racing. Alpecin-Premier Tech was praised for controlling the final stage, which once again turned into a sprint. But Philipsen’s own legs also made an impression, during “one of my better weeks on the bike.”

That bodes well for all the Belgian one-day races still to come in September and October. We’ll also see Philipsen back in action in the French one-day races. General classifications will have to wait until 2027. “Maybe I need to adjust my ambitions—I’ll never be a stage racer.”

While these races were, until recently, mainly intended for Van der Poel, Alpecin-Premier Tech may have added another contender to the mix: “A short race without a time trial is right up my alley,” said Philipsen.