With the Tour de France in mind, Philipsen's win tastes even better: "Knew I would only have one chance"

In Novara, Italy, Philipsen was by far the fastest in the end. After a tense finale, Alpecin-Deceuninck kept the Belgian sprint star perfectly positioned, and he finished the job in style. Now, of course, he wears the red jersey as the first leader of the Vuelta. “Winning always feels good, especially when it comes with the reward of the red jersey,” Philipsen said in the flash interview. “It’s a beautiful gift.”

The Alpecin train ran like clockwork. “I have to thank my teammates again, just like in the Tour de France. We executed our lead-out exactly the way we planned. The whole team was really strong, but especially Jonas (Rickaert, ed.) and Edward (Planckaert, ed.) were perfect in the final kilometers. I only had to launch my sprint with 175 meters to go. I’m glad it worked out like that.”

It wasn’t a given that Jasper Philipsen would even start the Vuelta: a DNF in the Tour de France was the main reason why. “After my crash in the Tour, I was really disappointed to abandon. I had worked so hard for it, so it was a big setback. Then you have to find new goals. This was a great goal, but I knew I’d only have one real chance. There aren’t many opportunities for a sprinter like me, so it’s going to be tough.”

Earlier this spring, the “Flame of Ham” also hit the deck hard: in Nokere Koerse, he crashed violently in the final kilometer. That meant he couldn’t defend his title in Milan-Sanremo, and he wasn’t at his best in Paris-Roubaix either. That makes this win even sweeter. “I’ve had quite a bit of bad luck this season, but also some great victories, like in the Tour, and now this one. That makes it all the more rewarding.”