Roubaix already floated a bit through Philipsen's head in Schoten: 'No sense in handing out big quacks'

Jasper Philipsen came up just short of claiming his third victory at the Scheldeprijs on Wednesday. The Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck couldn't fully execute his sprint, allowing Tim Merlier to overtake him. His next major goal is, of course, Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, he shared with IDLProCycling.com and others after the race.

"We had a plan as a team and tried to execute it as best as we could, but we got a bit separated in the end," the fast man from Ham explained afterward. "I noticed Bert Van Lerberghe and Tim making a move and found myself not quite in position, which left me a bit boxed in on the left and uunable to fully break free for my sprint."

Philipsen's last-minute addition to the Scheldeprijs lineup, choosing it over the Tour of Flanders, was strategic. "Given the conditions leaned towards a mass sprint, I was eager for a win here, yet it served as a good prep for Sunday too. With Kaden Groves, normally our sprinter here, not at 100% due to knee issues, I stepped in hoping for victory," he dryly summed up.

Philipsen didn't take unnecessary risks with Paris-Roubaix in mind

Could Philipsen have done something better in the finale? Not really, he believes. "The winner is always right, and I'm happy with how I felt and that we stayed upright, but of course, I would have liked to win. I wanted Tim's wheel, but Hugo Hofstetter got there, and he wasn't giving it up easily. And I didn't want to be handing out big shoves with Sunday in mind. Maybe I should have been more aggressive, but it was still a beautiful sprint."

Not taking all the risks this time doesn't mean the Scheldeprijs has become a second-tier race for him. "This is a race you want to win as much as possible, and I'll definitely be back in the coming years. Maybe Roubaix was on my mind a bit." Because that race is definitely a focal point. "We've been gearing up for Roubaix and the other monuments for some time. It's not like I'm the leading man from the get-go; we'll see how far we get. A lot will have probably happened by Carrefour de l'Arbre. I believe in a victory, but of course, everything has to fall into place," said the teammate of defending champion Mathieu van der Poel.