Crashed Philipsen asks Van der Poel for gravel tips, who responds hilariously

Philipsen had a year of ups and downs. He won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne early on, but two weeks later, he crashed hard in Nokere Koerse. This meant that he was unable to defend his title in Milan-Sanremo. The Tour de France started perfectly with a win in stage 1, but two days later, he had to drop out after a crash. Fortunately, he made up for it with three victories in the Vuelta.

Now it was time for a break from the racing bike. Well, not quite: Philipsen will be riding the Münsterland Giro, Binche-Chimay-Binche, and Paris-Tours later this season, so his vacation will have to wait. But a ride on a brand-new gravel bike from Canyon certainly couldn't hurt. The Belgian has little experience on such a bike and went to test his legs in Zonhoven.

Anyone familiar with Zonhoven knows what to expect: the famous Kuil van Zonhoven (Zonhoven Pit) is located in the hills of Limburg. It is a large dune where the Zonhoven Cyclo-cross is held every year. Last December, Mathieu van der Poel won his first cross of the year there. A perfect setting to test the new bike!

Where the cross dives down the dune, Philipsen managed to ride up it. An achievement in itself, but he couldn't prevent a spectacular crash. “Maybe I need help from world champions,” he said, referring to teammates Van der Poel and Gianni Vermeersch, both world champions on gravel. The former gave him an important tip: “Don't brake.”

The trip on the gravel bike also sparked some rumors. On October 12, the World Gravel Championships will be held in South Limburg. Van der Poel will be there to defend his title, but we may also see Philipsen there. Vermeersch wonders aloud: “Will we see you at the World Championships?” Philipsen responded with a shrugging emoji: he's keeping us in suspense...