Jasper Philipsen once again entered the history books last Saturday. After all, Ham’s Flame was the first to cross the line in Milan-San Remo, and thus also grabbed his first monument. On Wednesday he promptly won again in Brugge-De Panne.
You would think that gives an extra boost to his status. And that immediately increases the pressure on national coach Sven Vanthourenhout, who always has two world top players available with Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel. Putting together a puzzle with Philipsen for the upcoming World Cup, European Championships and Olympic Games will not be easy.
Wait until 2028
José De Cauwer also knows this, although he in Het Belang Van Limburg simply has bad news for the sprinter from Alpecin-Deceuninck. “Jasper will have to wait until 2028, when the global title fight will take place in Abu Dhabi,” he believes.
“The advantage is that the situation is clear. Better that way than when the World Cup course is a dime a dozen,” De Cauwer does not see any disadvantage in the fact that Philipsen would not be eligible for selection in the coming years, given that the courses are not entirely favorable to him.
