Super talent philipsen on his first days in the WorldTour after a giant leap: "As a Junior, I was always the favorite"

A handful of Danish journalists, an Englishman, and a Dutchman—no, this isn’t the setup for a joke, but the scene at a press conference with Albert Philipsen. Speaking from Australia, the 18-year-old Lidl-Trek rider took some time to answer questions and IDLProCycling.com was, of course, there.

Philipsen made his professional debut in the Tour Down Under, skipping the U23 ranks entirely and jumping straight from juniors to the WorldTour—a rare feat. But then again, he’s no ordinary rider. At just 16 years old, Philipsen became junior world champion, setting a new record in the process.

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Albert Philipsen in the white jersey

Philipsen was hoping for more in Tour Down Under

Ahead of his first-ever pro race, Albert Philipsen was eager to get started. "I’m really excited and curious to see what will happen," he said before the race. The young Dane entered the Tour Down Under with high expectations, but did reality match them?

"I’d say it lived up to my expectations, but there were also some new, unexpected things. The speed is obviously much higher, but the biggest difference is racing against so many riders who are all at the same high level. In the juniors, I was always the favorite at the start, but here, there are a lot of guys who are just as good—or better. It’s a completely different way of racing," the 18-year-old analyzed.

In the third stage towards Uraidla, he immediately made his presence known. It was the first serious test for the GC riders, and Philipsen rode impressively to a fourth-place finish. A strong overall ranking was within reach, but had he expected to finish in the top ten in his first WorldTour race? "After the third stage, I thought I had a good chance of finishing in the top 10. At least, I was hopeful. But stage five didn’t go as I had hoped," the young talent said, referring to the stage towards Willunga Hill.

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At age 16, Philipsen became world junior champion: a record.

Poor positioning cost Philipsen's ranking

In the final 30 kilometers of stage five, the riders had to climb Willunga Hill twice. After the first ascent, several riders attacked. As the peloton chased Mauro Schmid and Chris Harper, who had escaped, the group split. Philipsen was caught on the wrong side.

"I made a few small mistakes that day, but they had a big impact. I was poorly positioned for the second climb up Willunga Hill. When the pace suddenly increased, I was behind the split. That meant I ended up in the second group and had to waste a lot of energy trying to catch back up. By the time we reached the climb, I was already at my limit."

Philipsen finished 19th that day, 48 seconds behind stage winner Jhonatan Narváez. In the general classification, he dropped from seventh to 17th place. "That was disappointing, but I see it as a learning experience for future races."

Still, he didn’t leave empty-handed from his debut—he won the white jersey as the best young rider. "I wasn’t specifically aiming for the white jersey. My goal was to ride a strong GC and see how I would perform in the tougher stages."

Philipsen already feels more confident after his first WorldTour race

Despite the small setback, Philipsen looks back positively on his first race at the highest level. "In the end, I finished in the top 20, and I’m happy with that. The Tour Down Under was an amazing experience. Some stages went better than others, but overall, the result was positive."

It was yet another big leap in his already steep learning curve. Jumping straight from juniors to the WorldTour, immediately starting in a stage race, and handling multiple media days in a short time—it’s a lot to take in. A crash course in being a WorldTour rider. "I definitely feel a difference after this week. This was an amazing way to start my season, and I’ve learned a lot. I already feel more comfortable and confident heading into my next races."

Dealing with the media is another new experience for him. "I had some experience with interviews during my time as a junior, and that definitely helps. It makes things much less stressful now. But the media world around professional cycling is still new to me, and of course, I don’t want to say anything stupid," Philipsen laughs.

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Albert Philipsen

Main lesson: tactics and teamwork are crucial in the WorldTour

What was his biggest takeaway from the Tour Down Under? "Mainly understanding how racing works at this level. It’s completely different from what I was used to. You can’t really train for it in advance—you have to experience it in the races," he refers especially to the tactical differences. "Of course, everything is faster, but the way the race unfolds is also completely different. In juniors, we often just went full gas from the start without much structure. In the WorldTour, the team plays a much bigger role. You have to use your squad and teammates wisely, and that changes the entire approach to a race."

One example of this was stage three, which Javier Romo won after a late attack. In the chasing group of 17 riders, Lidl-Trek had five teammates, but still, they couldn't take control of the race. "To be honest, it was really tough to organize the chase properly. The finale was brutal, and everyone was completely dead at the top. That made it hard to set up a proper chase and decide how to approach the last five kilometers. It might have looked strange that we had five riders in the lead group but still didn’t win the stage," he admits.

On Sunday, he will be back at the start of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and his ambitions remain high despite his first experience at the pro level. "I hope I can be in contention for the win again on Sunday." After that, he will return home to Spain for several mountain bike races, though his further schedule is not yet final.

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