Philipsen analyzes Tour route in his own and Van der Poel's name: 'Of course I hope Mathieu goes along'

As the great sprint man of the 2023 Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen also enjoyed a lot of attention after the presentation of the 2024 Tour de France course. At the Palais des Congres, the Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck gave opposite IDL Procycling , among others, his vision of the course, opportunities and ambitions with the Roodhooft brothers' team. 

Opinions were not entirely divided in Paris. For example, Patrick Lefevere, using the term "poor sprinters," noted that there were hardly any chances for the fast men, while Richard Plugge nuanced that a bit. Philipsen himself took a positive view. They say there are eight flat stages, so that should be the maximum. I haven't looked at them in detail yet, though.' That wasn't possible yet, since the A.S.O. only had a complete profile ready for the crucial stages for the final classification;

'The course was already a bit in line with expectations,' Philipsen concluded. 'The period when the sprinters got 10 to 12 chances is in the past. The difference is that now we don't end with a sprint, but there are still a lot of chances in between,' the Belgian said of moving the end of the 2024 Tour from Paris to Nice. As a result, the last stage for the fast men is likely to be stage sixteen already, since after that it is purely climbing until the Cote d'Azur.

Philipsen was not yet sure about his participation, but between the lines you can tell that the 2023 green jersey winner will be there in Florence. 'Of course the team determines the selection, and also I will have to make sure I am back on level.' The Belgian is also looking at the Olympics with a slanted eye, but realizes that that is 'not an absolute certainty' at the moment. After all, the Belgians are also only allowed to compete with four men in Paris.

When asked, the Vlam van Ham also analyzed the course amens that other superstar of Alpecin-Deceuninck: Mathieu van der Poel, who was not present in Paris. 'That gravel stage is nice for him, probably. In addition, I think those first two stages are certainly within his capabilities, although it is tough. I don't think it is out of the question that he can go for the yellow jersey again," said Philipsen, who could benefit from Van der Poel as a lead-out. 'Of course I hope he can come along and do the sprints like he did this year. Should that not be the case, we have other strong pawns who can take care of that," Philipsen indicated the strength of Alpecin-Deceuninck in the width.