José De Cauwer identifies possible reason for Jasper Philipsen’s Tour de France sprint struggles: ‘Not his normal sprint’

Jasper Philipsen crossed the line in fifth place on Friday in Stage 7 of the Tour de France. The Belgian appeared to be lacking his usual pure speed after Mathieu van der Poel had delivered him into an excellent position. There was no panic inside Alpecin-Premier Tech after the finish, but is there nevertheless cause for concern? José De Cauwer and Sven Nys offered their assessments.

Alpecin-Premier Tech appeared to have everything under control in the closing kilometres on Friday. However, as soon as Philipsen launched his sprint, the Belgian team’s blue jersey quickly disappeared from the front positions. That was despite Van der Poel producing an outstanding lead-out for his sprinter. Team boss Christoph Roodhooft later awarded the Dutchman a score of 9.5 out of 10 for his work.

Nys was equally impressed by the lead-out. “Alpecin-Premier Tech produce a fantastic lead-out,” he said. “They are really the team showing how it should be done, right up until 250 metres from the finish.” The problem only became apparent when Philipsen began his effort. “As soon as he accelerates, you can immediately see that Philipsen does not have the speed or the acceleration,” Nys continued. “It is not a case of him reaching the front too early. There simply is not enough power in that first acceleration.”

De Cauwer went one step further in his analysis. “He was sprinting against Fernando Gaviria,” the Belgian analyst said on Sporza. “With all due respect to Gaviria, if you cannot create any distance there, then this is not the Jasper Philipsen we saw winning the opening stage of last year’s Tour de France. For the moment, he simply does not have it.” Philipsen’s fifth place came after Alpecin-Premier Tech had positioned him perfectly for the sprint in Bordeaux. Van der Poel took control at the front inside the final few hundred metres, but Philipsen was unable to match Tim Merlier’s acceleration. Merlier surged past to claim a convincing victory, while Philipsen faded several positions before the line.

Why has Philipsen not yet been able to produce his usual sprint? “There is the heat, the difficulty of recovering and the fact that he does not feel completely comfortable,” De Cauwer suggested. “I would not immediately think that there is a problem with his condition.” His victory in the final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour would also appear to suggest that there is no major problem with his general fitness.

Nys nevertheless pointed to Philipsen’s altered preparation. “At one point, the Tour de Suisse was part of his programme,” he explained. “That was changed at the last moment, and he went to the Baloise Belgium Tour instead.” Philipsen had originally planned to ride the Tour de Suisse before Alpecin-Premier Tech changed his schedule and sent him to the Belgian stage race, which offered more suitable opportunities for a sprinter. “He won a stage there, but in two or three of the other stages he was again lacking a little acceleration,” Nys continued. “The resilience was there in the final stage.”

The father of Thibau Nys therefore wondered whether Philipsen’s preparation had been missing one final ingredient. “Did they feel that another layer still needed to be added? And were they perhaps unable to create that extra layer? That is possible.” De Cauwer, however, stressed that Philipsen had shown a high level during the Tour of Belgium. “There was not another sprinter in sight during the queen stage in Durbuy,” he said. “He was there.”

For that reason, De Cauwer believes one particular factor may be having the greatest influence. “I think it is more likely to be something connected to the heat,” he explained. “This is not the sprint Jasper Philipsen normally produces. There are still several good sprint stages to come.” What should Philipsen do now? According to Nys, the answer is straightforward. “He has only one option: remain patient.”