Reigning Tour de France inexperienced jersey Jasper Philipsen returns to the race this weekend as soon as once more forming one half of the dash dream crew with Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel, however the pair aren’t anticipating to seek out fast success because the occasion kicks off in Tuscany.
Final 12 months, Philipsen gained on the earliest alternative on the flat third stage in Bayonne, which got here after two hilly phases within the Basque Nation. This time, it is set to be an analogous story with two onerous opening days to Rimini and Bologna coming forward of flatter stage 3 in Turin.
Three years in the past, Van der Poel claimed the yellow jersey with a stage 2 win on the Mûr-de-Bretagne, however with 3,800 metres of climbing unfold over seven main hills on the street to Rimini, he actually wasn’t speaking up his possibilities of repeating that success on Saturday.
“It is dependent upon the racing and what different groups need to do,” the Dutchman stated in a pre-race press convention set in Palazzo Vecchio in central Florence.
“I have not carried out the recon of the stage, nevertheless it seems fairly onerous on paper. There can be a yellow jersey on the road as effectively so for positive it will not be a straightforward stage.
“I feel the primary two phases are fairly onerous. Final 12 months there was a query mark over whether or not it was potential. It was too onerous. This 12 months – it all the time is dependent upon the racing – nevertheless it seems prefer it’ll be a bit too onerous once more.
“I’ve raced on this area earlier than, and I understand how onerous it’s. We’ll see nevertheless it’s not that I’ve made an enormous purpose out of it.”
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Philipsen, in the meantime, stated that the crew can “begin with none stress” with the opening weekend not suited to himself or Van der Poel, earlier than the main target turns to dash wins and one other tilt on the inexperienced jersey.
This time round, there are many probabilities for the Belgian and his dash rivals to compete for wins, even when there is no prestigious dash finale on the Champs-Elysées ready on the finish of a gruelling three weeks.
“Yearly is heavy. The Tour is rarely straightforward. The phases are robust, however I feel alternatives will come up,” Philipsen stated. “I feel the utmost alternatives for us as a crew is perhaps 9, that is with the gravel stage included. However you additionally see a few of these phases finish with a breakaway. If we are able to do six sprints out of 9 that might be good.
“With not going to Paris this 12 months it is a totally different psychological sport for the sprinters. We’ve got to undergo till the top if you wish to win inexperienced. There aren’t any closing rewards ready for us in Paris sadly, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a pleasant Tour with good alternatives.”
The battle for the inexperienced jersey could possibly be extra intense than it was final 12 months, too, with Philipsen saying that Mads Pedersen – a distant second final summer season – may as soon as once more be his closest competitor for the sprinters’ greatest prize.
“In all probability I feel Mads can be one among my large rivals,” he stated. “Possibly he hasn’t proven that he is the perfect in pure sprints, however he has proven that he is a powerful bike rider who’s able to getting factors in all the phases.
“Positively if he is placing his thoughts to it from stage 1, I feel that is totally different from final 12 months. If he goes 100% then he is an enormous rival.”
Whereas Philipsen spies perhaps half a dozen probabilities for himself unfold throughout the 21 phases, Van der Poel is extra restricted in what he can obtain through the race. In fact, he’ll as soon as once more be working for his teammate on the pure dash phases, although the alternatives for Classics riders, even the perfect within the peloton like himself, are extra restricted.
“The factor is there’s only some probabilities for riders like me,” Van der Poel stated. “For the dash phases, it is apparent that we go for Jasper after which the phases that swimsuit me we go actually onerous as effectively, like in each Grand Tour.
“The simpler phases are virtually 3,000 metres of altitude so it is not that straightforward anymore. The parcours makes it actually onerous to indicate a good condition.”
Nonetheless, he plans to journey all the way in which to Good, even with one other main purpose on the Paris Olympic Video games following shortly after the conclusion of the Tour.
“I feel it was fairly relaxed to have an extended preparation coming into the Tour,” Van der Poel stated. “Now it may be lengthy for us as effectively with the Olympics after the Tour, so it was fairly essential to have these strong days.
“The plan is to go for the entire Tour and, if potential, attempt to win a stage myself. Then I will be there within the dash phases for Jasper. It’s kind of just like final 12 months however when my probabilities have been there, I used to be just a little bit sick. So, I hope to take my probabilities if they’re potential.”
