The thunderclaps dispersed the crowd gathered on the sides of the Turin Olympic Stadium and one wondered if they were covering up, behind the tinted windows of the Alpecin-Deceuninck Pullman, the outbursts of Jasper Philipsen. He had crossed the line in freewheel, his shorts torn on his right buttock covered in blood, and a stormy eye that betrayed more wounds to his mind than to his skeleton. Further on, slaloming between the tifosi, Mathieu Van der Poel, in a good mood for a man who had punctured 6 km from the line, wrapped a brotherly arm around his teammate’s shoulders.
Once engulfed in the intimacy of their coach, we were reduced to imagining the cold fury of the one whose mother sometimes forbade him to play Monopoly with his older brother Sander so that the board would not fly across the room if he lost. Or the anger of the youngest who could, at 12 years old, if he did not win a race, sulk all weekend in his room and only come out on Monday morning.
“I’m still boiling inside. We were in a good position. I fell at 60km/h but the damage is minimal.”
This fall 3 km from the line, which deprived the Belgian of his 47th pro victory, as well as the frustration of not even having to drop the chain on the eleven-tooth to compete in the first sprint of his fifth Tour, was not going to be digested without flinching. Philip Roodhooft, the manager who signed the new four-year contract with his sprinter ten days ago, warmed up the atmosphere with a smile and a lesson in stoicism. “We couldn’t have imagined this scenario: first, Mathieu’s double puncture, at the front and at the back, when he has never had a puncture all season, then this fall. We are especially happy that both of them can continue, that Jasper has nothing broken, just a few burns. There is a little injury to morale, yes, otherwise, why would we do all this? It’s sport, it’s life. We will have other opportunities, see you the day after tomorrow (Wednesday, in Saint-Vulbas, suitable for a sprint).
Eclipsed for the doping control, Philipsen returned by bike, wearing shorts and a turquoise t-shirt, his nerves barely untangled. “I’m still boiling inside. We were in a good position. Mathieu had a puncture but we got back in order pretty quickly. A rider fell in front of me (probably Alexis Renard, after a derailment), I found myself stuck. I fell at 60 km/h but the damage is minimal.” The winner of the 2023 green jersey wanted to stay positive despite everything. I’m happy to stay in the Tour. Plus, it was a long and boring day, a bit wasted. I missed the sprint but also the points. It’s a shame, but we’ll move forward.” He got into a car, leaving a smiling and reassured mother in the first drops of rain.
