Jasper Philipsen understands that Mathieu van der Poel did not help him in sprint this time: ‘He has to save energy’ | Tour de France

“I’m not good at history, it was never my favorite subject at school and I don’t care much about it,” says Philipsen. “But to be level with Tom Steels, a really great sprinter, it’s a huge achievement. I’m not much into statistics, but it’s nice to hear afterwards.”

His fourth stage victory was the first without Mathieu van der Poel as lead-out. Van der Poel is struggling with illness and deliberately kept aloof, says Philipsen. “It makes my life a bit easier if I can stay in Mathieu’s wheel. Now I had to find the wheel myself in the final. The loss of Mathieu would be a loss, because he also has ambitions of his own. Thursday’s ride is already a good one for him. That’s why he didn’t take any chances. He’s already thinking about Thursday. Saving energy and thus recovering from that illness. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Philipsen has the best papers for the sprints that follow in the Tour, as he digests the mountains the best of all sprinters. He came up with a striking explanation for his supremacy in the sprints this Tour. ,,I actually don’t train much on sprinting, more on climbing in the mountains. I first have to be able to climb well to get over the mountains in order to be fresh for the sprint.”

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