Jasper Philipsen beats Remco Evenepoel and is Flandrien of the Year for the first time

Jasper Philipsen is the new Flandrien. The ‘Flame of Ham’ succeeds Remco Evenepoel on the honors list. Philipsen particularly excelled in the Tour by winning four stages and capturing the green jersey.

The Limburger from Alpecin-Deceuninck won with 584 points from Remco Evenepoel (538), who finished second. Arnaud De Lie (441 points), Wout van Aert (408) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (204) followed further behind.

Philipsen is a new name on the honors list of the Flandrien Gala. He is also the first pure sprinter to receive the Fernand Vanderplancke trophy from leader and world champion Mathieu van der Poel. Philipsen was also crowned international victor last season with nineteen victories. In the Tour alone he won four stages, easily taking the green. As a points winner, he succeeded Wout van Aert in Paris. Philipsen also impressed in Paris-Roubaix, finishing second behind his teammate Mathieu van der Poel.

Evenepoel also had a particularly strong year, including wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the World Time Trial Championship. He also won several stages in the Giro and Vuelta.

Jasper Philipsen: “I’m a bit surprised”

“I am a bit surprised,” Philipsen said about the trophy where the winner was chosen by the riders themselves. “That is the nicest appreciation you can get. Everyone in the peloton knows what cycling entails and how hard work it is. Receiving that appreciation from the peloton is very nice.”

Tom Boonen, Philipsen’s former idol, joined ‘de Vlam van Ham’ on stage. “I think there were a lot of expectations when Jasper made the transition to the pros. I expected him to perform faster in Paris-Roubaix as he did this year. He showed there that he can absolutely handle Paris-Roubaix. And there are still classics where he can drive like that. He has also become dominant as a sprinter: he has the speed, sits where he should and doesn’t let himself get carried away. It’s nice to see how he relegated everyone in the Tour.”