Philipsen overcome with emotion after brilliant Tour de France win: 'Cost me a few years of my life'

What an incredibly spectacular stage we saw on Wednesday in the Tour de France. After plenty of twists and turns, the stage was ultimately decided in a reduced sprint. Jasper Philipsen managed to break his winless streak at this Tour de France. Afterward, the Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter was very emotional during what turned out to be a brilliant interview.

Wednesday’s stage had plenty of plot twists, but Alpecin-Premier Tech—thanks in part to a fantastic performance by Mathieu van der Poel—managed to turn it into a sprint finish. The Dutchman paced Philipsen brilliantly in the sprint, and after coming up just short time and again in the Tour de France, the Belgian sprinter finally secured a victory.

"After such a roller coaster of emotions in this Tour de France, where I had to wait until stage seventeen... I was very well prepared and was really in the best shape of my life, I think. The first twelve stages were terrible. I couldn’t find my rhythm and couldn’t find the feeling I was hoping for,” Philipsen said, fighting back tears during his flash interview.

"Winning after seventeen stages is really for the team, which never stopped believing in me," the Belgian continued, visibly moved. “I also want to thank everyone. I was kind of like an ‘angry bird’ at the dinner table. I was just disappointed in myself and angry that I couldn’t win. So I just couldn’t find that feeling. The team had to deal with that, including the staff. This victory is for them—for continuing to believe in me and for fighting back.”

And yet, for a long time, it really didn’t look that way. “I think this victory is going to cost me a few years of my life. I was battling it out somewhere in the middle of the pack. I thought I’d lost the stage right there. But the team kept believing, and we tried to come up with a plan. In the end, the guys were really strong, and they set me up really well.”

The victory was therefore more than welcome, as Philipsen admitted to having had doubts during this Tour. “About myself. I did everything I could before the Tour. I had a good preparation, but I just wasn’t myself. Was it because of the heat? Was it something else? I don’t know.”

"It was just a fact that I wasn't performing at the level I'd hoped for," the Belgian continued, still fighting back tears. “Mentally, it was a tough roller coaster, especially with all the crap you get on Instagram and stuff. I just tried to stay in our own bubble with my teammates. It’s always an emotional roller coaster in the Tour de France.”

A nice bonus: the battle for the green jersey is wide open again. “With this victory, I’m also scoring a lot of points there. Mads did a lot today. The next stages will be tough, but we’ll keep fighting. Sunday marks the end of the Tour de France. First, we’re going to enjoy this victory,” Philipsen concluded his excellent interview.