Philipsen, Kopecky and Van der Poel won prizes at the Flandrien gala

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 8:44 AM

Jasper Philipsen and Lotte Kopecky were voted Flandrien and Flandrienne of the year on Tuesday evening. More prizes were also handed out. Mathieu van der Poel received the International Flandrien, the prize for the best international rider of the past season.

With 19 victories, Jasper Philipsen crowned himself the victor of the international cycling peloton this year. He won no fewer than four stages in the last Tour de France. Afterall La Grande Boucle he also took home the green points jersey. Philipsen also showed himself in the classical field last season. He won the Classic Brugge-De Panne and the Scheldeprijs and came second in Paris-Roubaix.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider won the election for Flandrien of the Year ahead of Remco Evenepoel – who this year won Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Clásica San Sebastián and became world champion in time trial – and Arnaud De Lie. It is the first time for Philipsen to receive the Flandrien of the Year trophy. Last year the prize went to Evenepoel.

Among the men it was still exciting for the Flandrien of the Year trophy, but among the women there was a clear favorite. Lotte Kopecky was allowed to collect the prize – as expected. The 27-year-old rider had the best season of her career.

She won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Tour of Flanders in the spring, came surprisingly second in the Tour de France Femmes in the summer and, as the icing on the cake, won the world road title. She also won two gold medals at the Track Cycling World Championships and for these achievements she was also rewarded with the Grand Prix Patrick Sercu.

Van der Poel gets International Flandrien
At the Flandrien gala, not only Belgian achievements were put in the spotlight. Attention was also paid to Mathieu van der Poel’s miracle season. The Dutchman won two monumental classics this year with Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix and also won the world titles in the field and on the road. He still had to leave the Velo d’Or to Jonas Vingegaard, but Van der Poel was voted the best international rider of the peloton.

Nathan Van Hooydonck, who was forced to stop cycling due to a heart condition, was voted Teammate of the Year. In the youth categories, Thibaut Van Damme (novices), Fleur Moors (juniors) and Alec Segaert (promises) took home the prizes. Finally, Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet, who have both retired from their professional road careers, were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.