Top sprinter Jasper Philipsen has ended any transfer speculation and extended his contract at Alpecin-Deceuninck until 2028.
Philipsen announced the news at a pre-Tour de France press conference on Friday in Wevelgem before he heads to the 2024 Tour to chase more stage wins and defend his green jersey. He followed it up with an Instagram post simply captioned: "I'm not leaving".
Since joining the Roodhooft brother’s Belgian squad from UAE Team Emirates in 2021, Philipsen has established himself as the best sprinter in the world.
He managed four stage wins at last year's Tour and has extended his talents beyond just flat sprints with victory at Milan-San Remo in 2024 and two runner-up finishes behind leader Mathieu van der Poel at the past two editions of Paris-Roubaix.
“I have been with the team since 2021 and I feel good here,” Philipsen told reporters including HLN. “We have the same mindset and goals here, and I feel at home. I made the decision a while ago. Something like that is not obvious, it takes some time. But it is an obvious choice to stay.”
Philipsen was linked to multiple teams throughout the season with his contract set to expire after 2024 but Alpecin made sure to keep him until the end of 2028, just as they did by extending Van der Poel’s contract earlier in the season.
“Our story has not yet been written,” said Philipsen. “Four years is a long time, but it is also nice to be able to work together sportingly for a long time and hopefully achieve great successes.”
His form hasn’t been perfect heading into the Tour after suffering two defeats at the hands of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) at the Baloise Belgium Tour. But his compatriot won’t be on the start line in Florence on June 29 so Philipsen will be expected to repeat his sprint dominance from last season.
