Philipsen secures his second victory of the season, but warns ahead of the Tour: "I'm no Pogacar or van der Poel"
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Follow us on GoogleJasper Philipsen has secured his second victory of 2025. The 27-year-old Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinted to victory on Thursday on day 2 of the Baloise Belgium Tour, which was clearly a welcome boost. However, the fact that Philipsen only won twice in the first six months of this year bothered him less than it did to those around him.
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After Philipsen almost missed out on the Tour de France on Wednesday in stage 1 after a near crash, things went his way on the second day. In a chaotic bunch sprint, he was the first to cross the line, his second victory of 2025 after winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in March. It was there that everyone expected another fantastic spring, but after a crash in Nokere Koerse, Philipsen lost some ground.
After a long training block, he returned with ninth place in Dwars door het Hageland and second place in the Elfstedenronde. In the Baloise Belgium Tour, he now seems to be slowly getting up to speed for the Tour de France, where he won nine (!) stage victories in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2023, he also added the green points jersey. So Alpecin-Deceuninck knows exactly how to prepare the Belgian sprinter.
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Philipsen confident ahead of Tour de France
In his last three successful editions of the Tour de France, Philipsen always opted for a stage race with classics in the spring before working towards July via the Baloise Belgium Tour. The sprint specialist is, therefore, confident ahead of the Tour. “This stage win confirms that all the hard work during training camp has paid off. We must try to maintain that focus ahead of the Tour,” Philipsen told HLN.
The second win of 2025 came a little later than in previous years, but still on time. "It had been a while, yes. But again, the circumstances were not in our favor. After a strong opening weekend in Flanders and a great training camp, I didn't get the results I wanted after that heavy crash in Nokere. I struggled with headaches for a long time. I don't want to blame everything on that, but it's a valid question how the rest of my spring would have gone without that crash."
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Philipsen only started sprinting later
Philipsen emphasizes that success has not come easily to him in recent years. He had to work hard toward a goal. “I didn't do many sprints in the spring, sacrificed smaller stage races, and focused more on the classic work. Consciously. Because that's also a bit where the team wants me to go. That automatically resulted in less success because I'm not a multi-talented rider like Pogacar or Van der Poel who can win anytime, anywhere.”
What he's trying to say is that in recent weeks, the focus has been on the sprints, with success already. There need to be more of those in the Tour de France, although Philipsen is already looking beyond that. “I have to capitalize on opportunities where I can. And I hope to be able to do that more often in the second half of the season, with more sprint opportunities.”
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- If he finished ninth at the Tour, why didn’t he get a stage win too? I’m still trying to understand how the overall standings work.julien11-11-2026
- No ‘cross at all this winter? That’s a shame, but with his road season starting in February, I can see why he’d want a proper break. Does stepping away mean he’s done with cyclocross for good?gearguru3311-11-2026
- I like the honesty of that training post. Even the best riders feel the difference after a few weeks off, and he’s got plenty of time to build back up.samanthak11-11-2026
- Three sets of tyres in two days at the Nürburgring! The man clearly doesn’t do anything by halves. Bet a winter without cyclocross will feel strange, though.bikebuffj11-11-2026
- Fifth in the world rankings after that autumn run is some achievement. Pidcock was so aggressive at the Tour, too—hopefully he can turn a few of those near-misses into wins inpatriciaw11-11-2026
- Does XEFI’s investment mean the team will have more money to sign riders, or is it mainly a sponsorship and naming change? And is Roglič expected to race much next season?jeremya11-11-2026
- If the roster is nearly complete, why bring up Roglič at all? Feels like the article is turning a firm “no” into a transfer rumour.andrewf11-11-2026
- Wuling is no joke—105 km of climbing to 3,275 metres is brutal. Five minutes off Dyball’s record is still an incredible ride.velodromevirtuoso111-11-2026
- Roglič at TotalEnergies would be a fascinating move, but Heulot sounds pretty clear that it isn’t happening. His experience could be a massive boost for the younger riders, though.jennifer1911-11-2026
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
