Van der Poel and Philipsen – ‘Probably the best sprint combination in the world right now’

Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin Deceuninck after stage 3 of the Tour de France
Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck after stage 3 of the Tour de France 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

It’s hard to argue with Alpecin-Deceuninck team manager Christoph Roodhooft’s pronouncement that “Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen are probably the best sprint combo in the world right now”.

In Nogaro, just as they did in Bayonne, Van der Poel and Philipsen combined to give Alpecin-Deceuninck two sprint wins from two in the 2023 Tour de France. Philipsen is actually four from four, having won the last two sprint finishes of the 2022 Tour de France.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.