Whether Philipsen goes for green seems to depend on Van der Poel: "He also took a lot of points today"

“He was unbelievably strong, while I actually felt a bit worse today after yesterday’s tough stage,” Philipsen analyzed right after the finish. “Today was really hard in the finale, but I’m so happy that Mathieu took it and won our second stage of this Tour. Yesterday gave everyone a lot of confidence, so we took control, and the guys worked really hard. That wasn’t easy, but with someone like Mathieu, it makes their job a lot easier. He was incredible today.”

Surrounded by media, Philipsen said he “enjoyed his day in yellow so much.” Would he have to defend Van der Poel’s yellow on Monday? His smile at the question said it all. “Tomorrow should be a bunch sprint, and the day after is for him again. I’m just happy we’re keeping yellow in the team, another very beautiful day for us,” he concluded.

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“I don’t really mind losing yellow this way, now we both get to start tomorrow with a nice jersey,” Philipsen told NOS, referring to his own green jersey. Whether that becomes a goal for this Tour remains to be seen. “Probably, but it’s still very early. Mathieu took a lot of points today too. It’s good that we’re both in a strong position,” he said to Sporza.

It’s a very luxurious position for Alpecin-Deceuninck, and not for the first time. “I have no idea what it is. We’ve worked really hard for it, but of course, it still has to all come together. Winning twice already is amazing, but the Tour is still very long. This is so beautiful for the team, but tomorrow we’ll go for it again 100 percent. We do our best, and Mathieu delivers so often at crucial moments. It’s a privilege to ride on the team with him, it lifts the whole squad to another level.”