Alpecin-Premier Tech’s team bosses have urged patience after their sprinter Jasper Philipsen fell short of victory again at the Tour de France on Saturday.
The Belgian, a 10-time stage winner across his seven race starts, placed fourth in Bergerac on day eight, won by Soudal Quick-Step’s Tim Merlier. The result followed two fifth places in bunch sprints for Philipsen, on stages five and seven, which left him perplexed by the lack of his usual top speed.
Speaking outside the Alpecin-Premier Tech bus in Bergerac, the team’s manager Philip Roodhooft said it was “way too early to draw conclusions” about Philipsen’s form.
“We have no doubts about the preparation,” he said. “We have no doubts about the potential. Everyone has seen that the team and the lead-outs are more than strong enough to bring him where he has to be. We’re still very confident that it will lead to Jasper winning a stage.”
Guided to the line by his team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, Philipsen launched his sprint inside 200m to go on Saturday, by which time Merlier had already gathered his race-winning pace from behind.
Asked about the lead-out, Alpecin’s head sports director Christoph Roodhoft, Philip’s brother, said the team “cannot do it better”.
“Yesterday [Jasper] was maybe a bit too early, today he was maybe a bit too late. Maybe next time we will do it right on time,” Christoph said.
“It is not completely missed opportunities. We had chances, and we did not win, but that’s not the only thing. It’s not that easy to win on this level, let’s say. Sometimes it seems like that, but when it doesn’t work out immediately, then you realise this is a hell of a job.”
Alpecin-Premier Tech were one of the most successful squads at last year’s Tour, winning three stages, including on the opening day in Lille thanks to Philipsen. The team also enjoyed five days in the yellow jersey, split between Philipsen and Van der Poel.
Their fortunes, it’s clear, are not the same this time round. But as Christoph stressed, the team has had to be patient for success in the past.
“Two years ago we had to wait until stage 10 [for a stage win]. We’re only at eight today, so even if it doesn’t happen then, we can only try,” he said.
Philip shared the same feeling. “Obviously it’s not what we hoped, but we remain confident,” he said. “It’s clear that we’d have liked it to be different at this point but that doesn’t change anything and the fact that the Tour de France is for three weeks, and there will be other occasions.
“Let it also be clear that we weren’t expecting to win all the sprints. We still have a lot of confidence that we as a team, and Jasper as the finisher, will be able to win sprints.”
Philipsen did not address the media on returning to his team bus after stage eight. A team press officer said he would not speak as he had to leave to carry out a routine anti-doping test.
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