Roodhooft gives Van der Poel 9.5/10 for Tour de France lead-out: ‘Jasper is not yet 100%’

Jasper Philipsen appeared to have been delivered into a winning position by Mathieu van der Poel in Stage 7 of the Tour de France, but the Belgian could not finish off his teammate’s work. The Alpecin-Premier Tech sprinter finished fifth in Bordeaux and, along with team boss Christoph Roodhooft, offered an honest assessment after the stage.

“I was in the position to launch my sprint,” Philipsen began in his analysis with Sporza. “I could start my sprint, but there simply wasn’t enough speed. It’s a shame because the team did everything perfectly.”

Van der Poel delivered the Belgian to the front with approximately 250 meters remaining, completing another excellent lead-out for his teammate. Once Philipsen opened his sprint, however, several of his rivals had considerably more speed. Tim Merlier powered past to take a dominant victory, while Philipsen slipped back to fifth place. The result understandably left the former green jersey winner disappointed. “Of course there is frustration after the race, but that is part of the sport,” Philipsen said. “When I can’t reach the level I need, that isn’t enjoyable. I actually felt good, but I just couldn’t find the explosiveness in the final 200 meters. That’s disappointing, but I did everything I could. It wasn’t enough.”

Philipsen is not giving up on his chances in the 2026 Tour de France. “The Tour is still long. Of course, I try to make the most of every opportunity. I hope I will start feeling better, but I have to accept where I am at the moment. There are obviously several more opportunities. Hopefully, we can take advantage of them with better legs.”

Roodhooft reached a similar conclusion when speaking to NOS. “It was a good preparation for the sprint, and I think we can all agree on that,” the Alpecin-Premier Tech boss said. “Jasper then reaches the front with 250 meters remaining. He launches his sprint, but by then it is basically already over. He actually limits the damage quite well by still finishing fifth. So, yes…”

Was Merlier simply the faster sprinter in Bordeaux? “That was the balance of power on the day,” Roodhooft explained. He had no criticism of the work Van der Poel had done in the finale. “That was also completely in order. There is nothing you can say about it. I think everything went well. We can probably give ourselves 9.5 out of 10.”

Roodhooft then repeated the assessment that has already been heard from within Alpecin-Premier Tech during this Tour. “Jasper is not yet 100%, but as I said, he still finishes fifth,” he added. “For the moment, he is limiting the damage that way. He is a little bit short, and you can see that. Today, the difference was around five or six meters. It is difficult to say exactly, but it will come.”