“I get really motivated when we train together”: how Van der Poel is turning Philipsen into a better Classics rider

For Jasper Philipsen, 2025 wasn’t quite a dream year. True, the Belgian sprinter won the opening stage of the Tour de France, pulled on the yellow jersey, and claimed three victories at the Vuelta a España — but two crashes disrupted the rest of his season. In the new campaign, Philipsen hopes to take another step forward, particularly in the spring Classics, with the help of teammate Mathieu van der Poel.

Philipsen started the year slowly, going winless at the UAE Tour - the first time he had failed to win a stage in a multi-day race since 2022. "When you’re used to winning a stage in every stage race, you always go there with the goal of trying to win," he told Het Nieuwsblad. “And I’m naturally a winner type. But our team had higher goals. We made certain preparation choices focused on the Classics.”

That same approach will return this season. The 2024 Milan–San Remo winner hopes to give his cobbled campaign another boost. The Grand Tours remain important, but he has already tasted plenty of success there. “In 2026 we’ll follow the same plan: I want to be a Classics rider in the first part of the season and focus my training around that.”

Van der Poel plays a central role in that process. The Belgian and the Dutchman often train together - and push each other to their limits. “I get really motivated when we train together and have fun,” the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter said. “Sometimes it becomes a bit of a duel. One rider pulls half a wheel ahead, the other responds, and before you know it, we’re trading turns and it turns into a game. It’s great.”

Even with Van der Poel’s help, Philipsen knows that defending his Milan–San Remo crown won’t be easy. The way Tadej Pogacar attacked this year turned the race into a brutal affair. “Mathieu is also super strong in those kinds of efforts. Riders with my profile just have to hope not much happens before the Poggio - and then try to survive. If they start attacking already on the Cipressa, I’ll just say ciao.”

Another race where he has already shone is Paris–Roubaix. In 2024, Philipsen finished second, and a year later — not long after a hard crash at Nokere Koerse — he was dropped by Van der Poel and Pogacar in the battle for the cobblestone trophy. Still, a victory in the Hell of the North remains his ultimate dream. “It’s a race I really live for, that I’m passionate about. I even get emotional when I think about it.”

“Races like Paris–Roubaix are why I started cycling,” he continued. “They fit my DNA — and that of our team — and they’re huge in Belgium. I love that I can focus on them. Maybe in a few years that focus will shift and I’ll concentrate more on sprinting again, because that’s what I’m intrinsically best at. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.”