“A Lost Day” by Alpesen Desoninck and Jasper Philipsen: “I cook a little”

Alpecin Desoninck’s struggles began more than 6 kilometres from the finish. Mathieu van der Poel was supposed to take over as pilot, but was ruled out due to bad luck.

“Mathieu hasn’t had a flat tyre all year, but now he has a puncture in the front and rear,” said sporting director Christoph Ruudhoeft.

Van der Poel was unable to return, but the next bad moment occurred just over 3 kilometers from the finish. Jasper Philipsen was unable to avoid falling.

“Considering the circumstances, the damage isn’t too bad,” he said after showering. “I hit the ground at 60km/h, but fortunately the road was good.”

“What happened? Some guys collapsed and I had no place. It’s sad, because I miss the sprint and the green points. It’s a shame.”

“It’s not a positive day, but fortunately there are still opportunities. I’m happy that I can continue driving.”

“I would have liked to have participated and I’m cooking a little bit, but it’s part of the sport. It was long and boring. Then it’s a wasted day.”

“We were in a perfect position to do something,” Jonas Rickart analysed the chaotic final. “We always had an overview and a place to get out, but two riders crashed on the left.”

“The bike flew into my leg and unfortunately Jasper was right behind it. I looked back and didn’t see anyone anymore.”

“It’s unfortunate. It’s a missed opportunity, but we have to rely on the fact that we were there. Maybe it’s in our favor.”

“There are obviously no problems after the fall and we can all move on,” Rudhoeft nodded. “Then we work on exploiting new opportunities.”

“I hope we have our share of bad luck for a few days. Then we’ll see. There’s not much you can do but stay calm. We have to do that. We move on to the next stage.”