Philipsen found morale boost with van der Poel in Spain, and now heads to the Vuelta with one clear goal

“It wasn't easy, but I ended up going to Spain, where I was able to train well with Mathieu van der Poel (and Gianni Vermeersch, ed.). After the Tour, we were in a similar situation, because I had crashed and he had to withdraw due to illness. We were both looking for motivation to keep going, but we were able to recharge each other.”

“Mainly a combination of all of that, just good company. We were able to train well and had a lot of fun along the way. That makes everything go a little smoother.”

“Of course, it's not realistic to say that I'm in the same shape, because I worked specifically toward that with altitude training and so on. This goal was added late, so I had a short preparation period. But I did my best to be in the best possible condition at the start.”

"I had known for a while, but we wanted to see how the preparatory races (the Tour of Denmark and ADAC Cyclassics, ed.) would go first. The decision was made not too long ago."

“Yes, you see how things are going along the way and how your recovery is progressing. When your condition slowly improves, it's really a matter of taking it day by day.”

“Haha, no, it won't be fun. I'm going to suffer a lot and not play a significant role for many days. But I'm going to try to stay positive by enjoying the race and the process with the team.”

“No, I don't think so. We're mainly going for a stage win, and if we can do that with this limited preparation, I'll be very satisfied.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])