The Belgian won his fourth victory in this 110th edition on Wednesday at Moulins.
Even lonely, he sickened them all. Only beaten in Limoges, Jasper Philipsen won the other four sprints of this edition. 4-1, move on, there is (almost) nothing to see on the flat stages of this Tour de France. The Belgian still distanced the pack launched on his heels, Wednesday July 12, in Moulins.
“I was able to take the right wheel, that of Dylan Groenewegen, and then he launched my sprint as I wanted. If you’re in good condition, you make the right decisions. It’s really a dream Tour until now”welcomed the winner of the day at the finish.
This time he could not count on his usual sprint train, due to the wet conditions and the decline in form of his usual luxury launcher, Mathieu van der Poel. “It was a bit more tricky, it was difficult to find a wheel. Mathieu was a little bit sick, he has a little cold and is struggling to breathe but he also tried to keep some under the pedal to tomorrow, because it’s a very good stage for him”underlined the green jersey. “It’s easier with Mathieu, but it also works without him. The team’s progress has been enormous over the past three years”adds team manager Christophe Roodhooft.
On the bus, his teammates were not surprised in the least by his victory, confirming the confidence that reigns within the Alpecin-Deceuninck formation on this Tour. “I saw that he won quite easily. He has a lot of freshness, he passes the mountains best among the sprinters and he is just super strong”said Jonas Rickaert, one of his lieutenants.
On par with Petacchi, Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel in the 21st century
With four victories on this Tour, Philipsen joins the Alessandro Petacchi rockets (2003), Marcel Kittel (2013, 2014 and 2017), André Greipel (2015) and Mark Cavendish (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2021), the only sprinters in the 21st century to have slammed at least four sprint victories in a single edition . For his fourth participation, Philipsen has become the wheel to take, the car to follow in the maze of riders jostling for the sprint.
But no one has the solution yet. “This guy is the best sprinter in the world right now. Hats off to him for winning four stages in one lap”notes Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), the only one to have beaten him on this Tour. “I thought it was my day but in the end someone was better”continues the dolphin of the day, Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla).
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), best Frenchman of the day (4th), observes like the others that the Flemish puts everyone to the torture sprint after sprint. “We come to do better but we have to be satisfied with that, it’s sport and there are stronger than us so we have to admit defeat. Philipsen is very strong and for the moment there is no photo , it’s like that”explains, resigned, the Nazairean. “Hats off to Jasper, if he’s in position every time, he’s super smart. It’s not just luck”insists Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), 9th Wednesday.
Victory calls for victory
And since raising your arms can become a real obsession, even more so for sprinters, Jasper Philipsen capitalizes day after day, like Mark Cavendish in 2021 (four wins), or Marcel Kittel in 2017 (five wins). “When you start winning once, twice, the opponents are fighting to get into your wheel, so you arrive much fresher when it comes to sprinting. And since he’s strong, for positioning, it’s easier”explains Bryan Coquard. “You gain a lot of confidence when you win so many stages.”summarizes Silvan Dillier, the teammate of Jasper Philipsen.
Mission impossible, then? Still, Jasper Philipsen has already been beaten by Mads Pedersen, and Dylan Groenewegen had done almost everything right to edge him out on Wednesday. “I was almost beaten today, anyone can win. I don’t know if they fear me, but I think they will keep trying, anything can happen. I’m in good condition, so if I can take a good wheel, I know it will be difficult to beat me”concludes the Belgian.
Nicknamed “Jasper Disaster” (“Jasper Désastre” in French) for his clumsy side in life, the sprinter could now have a new one. “Jasper Disaster, it’s not really because of his results. In the sprints, it’s more the Master in the sprint”, smiles Silvan Dillier. If he wins two, out of the three chances left for sprinters until Paris, he will be only the third post-war sprinter to win six bouquets in a single Tour after Mark Cavendish (six in 2009) and Freddy Maertens (eight in 1976). What to anchor definitively Jasper Master.