‘Third time lucky?’ Philipsen misses out again despite Van der Poel masterclass

For the second day in a row, Philipsen was unable to finish off the work of Alpecin-Premier Tech in the Tour de France. After launching too early in Bordeaux, the Belgian waited too long in Bergerac and finished fourth as Tim Merlier claimed a second consecutive stage win.

Philipsen did not speak to the media after the finish, leaving team manager Christophe Roodhooft to explain another frustrating result.

“I think we did everything right again,” Roodhooft said to Sporza. “Mathieu was there for a long time, a very long time. Maybe too long today.”

Van der Poel guided Philipsen through the final corner and stayed at the front until roughly 150 metres from the finish. The Dutchman gave the Belgian sprinter an early advantage, but Roodhooft believed Philipsen’s hesitation to launch his sprint allowed his rivals to close the gap.

“That gave the riders coming from behind the space to come back,” he said. “Jasper started too late. Yesterday it was too early, today it was too late.”

Roodhooft could not hide his disappointment, but also tried to put the situation into perspective. “We are not going to make things unpleasant. There is no point in that,” he said. “Third time lucky, perhaps?”

Van der Poel also felt the execution before the sprint had been close to faultless. In his view, the leadout was even stronger than the one the team had produced a day earlier.

“For me, today’s leadout might have been even better than yesterday’s,” Van der Poel told NOS. “I think I rode on the front until about 150 metres from the finish.”

He was unable to give a detailed assessment of Philipsen’s sprint, having emptied himself before pulling away.

“I had to go very deep, so I did not look behind me anymore,” he said. “Of course we were aiming for more, but I think we did everything right again. There is not much more we can do.”

That sense of frustration is becoming a recurring theme for Alpecin-Premier Tech. The team has repeatedly brought Philipsen into a winning position, but the sprinter has not yet found the right moment to launch.

Before the start in Bergerac, Philipsen had remained positive about the previous day’s performance despite missing out on victory.

“We have to look at yesterday in a very positive way,” he told Sporza. “The team was there. We were the only team that was completely lined up. Everyone was able to use their strengths to the fullest. It is a shame that I could not finish it off.”

The same conclusion applied again after stage eight.

There were still encouraging signs. Philipsen won the sprint from the peloton at the intermediate checkpoint, something Roodhooft described as his first genuinely strong intermediate sprint of the week.

“That was really good for the first time this week,” he said. “So there are positive signals.”

It also made the final result more painful. With green jersey leader Mads Pedersen finishing outside the top ten, victory would have allowed Philipsen to make significant progress in the points classification.

“There was almost an open goal waiting today in the fight for green,” Roodhooft said.”

For Van der Poel, the past two days have at least brought evidence that his own form is improving. He admitted he had not felt at his best at the start of the Tour, but said his sensations on the bike were becoming more positive.

“These were two slightly easier stages, but it is true that I am feeling a little better,” he said.