Tourist
The Tour de France 2025 is called Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian delivers a sprint like from the picture book and benefits from his strong team.
So he was sitting, freshly equipped with the yellow jersey. “Cool”said Jasper Philipsen. “I will wear it with great pride, with great joy, at least for a day.” Philipsen was one of the favorites for this first stage victory in the Tour de France 2025 reserved for the sprinters after a flat 184.9 kilometers around Lille.
Brought the sprint train over the wind edge
But the heavily blown wind in northern France then caused some turbulence on the way, which took the other favorite sprinter out of the race before the home stretch. The Belgian Tim Merlier and the Italian Jonathan Milan, after the number of victories, the best sprinter of the season so far, had slipped into a back group at a wind edge 16 kilometers before the finish line, which finished 39 seconds behind.
Sportschau Tourfunk, July 5, 2025 7:55 p.m.
Philipsen, who only had two victories this year before the tour, was in the front group with his entire sprint. And that was no coincidence. “We knew what could happen, but we didn’t know exactly when”said Philipsen. “We only knew that we had to be in front and attentive all day.”
Cycling is a team sport where there is only one winner in the end. “I have two daughters and they ask me why the whole team is not on the podium”said Philipsen. Indeed, this is difficult to understand. On Saturday in Lille, the Alpecin-Deceuninck team would have deserved to appear together for the award ceremony.
Predicate world class
All day long, the teams of the team around Philipsen had gathered at the top of the field and were there at the front of the crucial moment when the field shared. “It was a strong team performance. I am really proud of how we drove today”said Philipsen.
This was also true for the last kilometers, on which Philipsen only had to hang on his sprint train, who was with the ex-world champion and winner of the spring classic Paris-Roubaix,, Mathieu van der Poelas well as the Australia Kaden Grovewhich has already won seven stages of the Spain’s tour and two stages of the Giro d’Italia, with the predicate world class.
Philipsen only had to finish the matter over the last 100 meters. He did that confidently. It was a perfect sprint from the preparation to the last few meters. On the finish line, Philipsen had a lead of almost two wheel lengths in front of the second -placed Biniam Girmay.
GIRMAY is very dissatisfied
The Eritrean, who had entered the history books last year with three stage wins and the winning of the green jerseys, could have added another entry to the history if he had been allowed to cover the yellow jersey. But Girmay had been on his own. He had made it to the rear wheel of Philipsen, but when he started his sprint, the Belgian still had Grove in front of him.
“I’m a bit disappointed”said Girmay. There should definitely have been teammates around him, he complained at the finish line. “We have to do that better, but it can’t always run perfectly.” Said it and thundered his plastic bottle with the regeneration drink on the asphalt behind the target run. A gesture that is otherwise not used to the friendly young man. But the chance of the yellow jersey will probably not come back so quickly.
Philipsen has used this rare opportunity for Sprinter, who has now been ten stage wins on the tour in his Palmarès has. He may have to hand in the yellow jersey again on Sunday. It is quite possible that he only has to pass it on in his team. For the demanding second stage, Mathieu van der Poel is one of the top favorites.