Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates proud of Philipsen: "He had to start his sprint a bit too early because of me"

Anyone who watched the new season of the Netflix series about cycling, released on Wednesday in the run-up to the Tour de France, saw a frustrated Philipsen. In 2024, things didn't go well for the Belgian in the first sprints, and he became increasingly uncertain, even shedding tears after missing his chance. In the end, everything turned out fine.

How different things are in 2025. On day one, Alpecin-Deceuninck delivered expert teamwork, and Philipsen emerged victorious in Lille, just a short distance from the Belgian border. The icing on the cake is a yellow jersey, which will rest on Philipsen's shoulders on Sunday as he heads for Boulogne-sur-Mer.

So, what was the plan discussed in the Alpecin-Deceuninck bus that morning? “We had the idea of riding in position all day, and the ideal situation was to come forward with a smaller group. And in the end, we succeeded,” concluded Roodhooft.

"There was still a lot of side wind, and that was the last point of the day that could have been dangerous. Because the wind was behind us, the peloton was already in formation, and then it happened," he analyzed. Visma | Lease a Bike started the echelon battle, although it sounded like the yellow and black team had already seen that Alpecin-Deceuninck and Uno-X were in a position to attack.

“Visma | Lease a Bike was in the lead when it split, and it was perhaps at a moment when not everyone was expecting it. We heard in our earpieces that there was a good gap and that we had to defend it because Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan weren't there,” said Groves.

Vermeersch was just behind the split and acted as you would expect from a top domestique. “I told them in my earpiece to go for it. I had seen that they were at the front, and the situation couldn't have been better for us. The fact that Milan and Merlier weren't there was very favorable for us.”

His Australian teammate nodded. “That split in the final was to our advantage because it meant we rode to the finish with a smaller group, and we still had quite a few guys at the front. We had to spend a lot of energy to keep the gap from getting too small.”

For a moment, it looked like Groves wouldn't make it to the final because, in the last five kilometers, he avoided the crash involving Marijn van den Berg and Ben O'Connor. “I don't know how I stayed upright. I thought I was going to crash because I rode quite a few meters on my front wheel. But Enric Mas still had a teammate in Ivan Garcia Cortina, and that's how we got back.”

However, Groves came back and was able to do his job, just not as well as hoped. “Jonas, Mathieu, and I did a good job of getting Jasper to 250 meters from the finish, although he had to start his sprint a little early because I didn't really have the speed anymore,” said the Aussie, who immediately told that to Mathieu van der Poel.

“It's the most important day for our team this year. Sprinters don't often get the yellow jersey, and we knew how focused Jasper was. The team executed the plan perfectly,” said the Australian, relieved. “Jasper is showing what great shape he's in. He's the deserved winner, and he deserves that yellow jersey.”

And now? Sunday, heading to Boulogne-sur-Mer, an explosive finale tailor-made for Van der Poel? “We've made a good start, and we'll see what the next few days bring. We're not going to get carried away,” said Roodhooft, the first to warn against getting too excited after just one day of the Tour de France. “It's a little easier to make choices now that we've already secured this victory,” Van der Poel himself said at the finish.