A crash in full sprint occurred right in front of Philipsen: "Bike got catapulted into the peloton"

Philipsen, who had narrowly escaped a collision just before the key hill section, couldn't keep pace when the Visma | Lease a Bike team accelerated on the climb. "I watched them riding away, but my legs just wouldn't cooperate, and you have to listen to your body. I think I'm not quite there yet to compete uphill with the top riders. I had to bow out," he recounted his story of the Opening Weekend.

In the end, Alpecin-Deceuninck did everything they could to make it a sprint for fourth place, but their leader couldn't get involved at the finish. What happened? "Something went wrong there. Someone passed us on the right and then crashed into the wall, catapulting their bike into the peloton. Girmay then fell over it, and I came to a complete stop. but still managed to just avoid it," Philipsen said, visibly relieved in the mixed zone after Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Disappointing, but Philipsen quickly put it into perspective after the finish. "It was for the fourth place," he points out. "The team worked hard for it, that's for sure, but in the end, it wasn't about winning. Those three guys up front were outstanding. I would have liked to sprint, but I'm mostly glad I didn't crash," he takes away the most important aspect from the rather tumultuous final phase of the peloton in this edition of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.