Philipsen wins In Flanders Fields after captain van der Poel caught
Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen (C) of Alpecin-Premier Tech celebrates on the podium after winning the men elite 'Middelkerke-Wevelgem - In Flanders Fields' one day cycling race, 240. 8 km from Middelkerke to Wevelgem. Elias Rom/Belga/dpa Sprint star Jasper Philipsen stepped in for his team captain Mathieu van der Poel to win the In Flanders Fields cycling classic for hosts Belgium on Sunday.
Philipsen won the race formerly known as Gent-Wevelgem over 240. 8 kilometres in a group sprint ahead of Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen and Christophe Laporte of France. Dutch rider and Team Alpecin-Premier Tech captain van der Poel managed a breakaway together with Belgium's Wout van Aert with around 36km left but they were caught around one kilometre from the finish.
"It is a classic I wanted to win for many years," the 2024 Milan-Sanremo winner Philipsen said. "It was an ideal situation for the team. Mathieu said a few kilometres before the finish that he had heavy legs from Friday.
I was fresh. " Van der Poel had won the E3 race two days ago after a long solo ride. He had hoped for victory Sunday ahead of the next duel with Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar in a week's time at the Tour of Flanders, one of the five Monuments in one-day cycling.
Pogacar did not race on Sunday after winning Milan-Sanremo for the first time last weekend. Also on Sunday, former Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark confirmed his good early season form by wrapping up first place in the Volta a Catalunya, with the final stage won by Australia's Brady Gilmore. Vingegaard has also won the Paris-Nice stage race this season.