'There's still a lot to learn' - Albert Withen Philipsen impresses with Paris-Tours podium

Back in 2023, Philipsen became the youngest winner of the junior men’s road race at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, as well as claiming the junior cross-country mountain bike world title at the same ‘Super Worlds’ event.

After signing a four-year contract with Lidl-Trek in 2023, set to begin in 2025, Philipsen has blended a combination of under-23 and professional races into his programme this year. The Dane has impressed throughout, shining on debut at the Santos Tour Down Under in January before winning Paris-Roubaix Espoirs in April.

However, the 19-year-old’s performances over the past fortnight have stood out in particular.

After finishing 10th at the Giro dell’Emilia, Philipsen secured a second-place finish at Tre Valli Varesine in Italy, winning the group sprint behind solo winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) — an achievement in itself, considering the Slovenian’s current dominance.

On Sunday, Philipsen capped off his run of form with a fine ride at Paris-Tours, finishing third in a small group sprint behind Matteo Trentin, an excellent way to close his neo-pro season after a combative display.

“The feeling is super good, I’m really happy to finish the season off well,” said Philipsen after the race to Cyclingpro.net. 

“Of course, it would have been nice to end the season with a win, but being on the podium with these guys is really a privilege, and I feel super happy just to be in the mix and ride the final.”

Philipsen’s teammate and last year’s runner-up, Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), suffered a mechanical at a key point in the race, briefly losing contact before returning to join Philipsen in the decisive move initiated by defending champion Christophe Laporte.

Philipsen admitted he wasn’t fully aware of his teammate’s situation. “It’s a bit hard to say, it’s super hard in a finish like this to have the overview and also to see where your teammates are,” said the Dane.

When Laporte attacked on the final climb, the Côte de Rochecorbon, with 9 km to go in an attempt to close the gap to the French duo of Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) and Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Vacek was distanced, leaving Philipsen with a decision to make.

“It was good that both me and Vacek were there almost until the final, and then I think there was a bit of a gap on the last kicker where Laporte went. I tried not to pull at first to see if he could get back up, but in the end, we had to turn it on to close to the two guys in front.”

In the end, mind games between the French duo allowed the chasers to make the catch inside the final kilometre, and Philipsen sprinted to third behind Trentin, another hugely impressive result for the 19-year-old, who admitted he’s only just getting started.

“I feel like I’ve learned quite a lot. It’s a different game racing at WorldTour level instead of juniors, so I feel I’ve learned a lot, but there’s still a lot that I need to learn,” said Philipsen.

At his age, it remains unclear exactly what type of rider Philipsen will become. The Dane has shown strong performances across different terrains and wants to keep it that way for now.

“I don’t want to be super specific with the kind of races I do yet. For me, it’s nice to try and be good in a few different kinds of races, and that’s also my goal for the future. Then maybe when I’m a bit older, I can make it more specific where I want to really be good.”