Jasper Philipsen wins the Baloise Belgium Tour in a thrilling finale

Jasper Philipsen won the fifth and final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour. In a nail-biting finish decided by mere seconds and a thrilling finale, the Belgian rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech proved to be the strongest in the sprint. It marked a double victory for the rider from Ham, as he also claimed the overall victory in the Tour of Belgium.

We were in for a wonderful final stage in Belgium. The Baloise Belgium Tour was still wide open, as Friday’s queen stage hadn’t created any significant gaps. As a result, about twenty riders were still within a few seconds of each other. And the final stage to Hoeilaart featured a course where a surprise could very well happen. Could race leader Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) hold on?

It wasn't really that tough, but the course was constantly going up and down. On top of that, there were four cobblestone sections along the route. Before the first cobblestone section, we saw a breakaway group pull away, including two Dutch riders: Stijn Appel (BEAT) and Roan Konings (Metec-SOLARWATT). They were joined by three Belgians and two French riders.

The breakaway group built up a lead of up to two and a half minutes, but they couldn’t hold onto it for long. With 43 kilometers to go, the peloton had caught up, setting the stage for a fast finish. Along the way, there were three “golden kilometers” where riders could earn bonus seconds.

That set a fast pace and caused some nervousness in the peloton. For every kilometer, there were 3, 2, and 1-second bonuses up for grabs, while at the finish line there were also 10, 6, and 4-second bonuses waiting. Philipsen didn’t want to wait for the final sprint and had already built up a four-second lead during the “golden kilometers.” Race leader Aranburu gained three seconds in the process.

The gap between the Belgian and the Spaniard had been two points in Aranburu’s favor going into the race, and after the “golden kilometers,” that lead had shrunk to just one point. In any case, Merlier would no longer be in contention for the win, as Uno-X lit the fuse on the cobblestones of Mommaertsstraat. A thrilling finale, with 18 kilometers still to go!

It was a back-and-forth race, and quite a few riders made one last attempt to break away. A move by Van Baarle allowed the Dutchman, along with Milan Lanhove (Flanders Baloise) and Jochem Kerckhaert (BEAT), to open up a nice gap. Kerckhaert didn’t put in the work, and that was reason enough for Van Baarle to call it quits as well.

Lanhove, however, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. On the final climb of the day, after Stuyven picked up the pace, it was all over for Lanhove. Out of nowhere, Abrahamsen made another breakaway. It wasn’t quite to be for the Norwegian: it came down to a sprint from a severely thinned-out pack, and Philipsen was the strongest in that group. With the stage win, the Belgian also secured the overall victory.