Tour de France green jersey holder Jasper Philipsen has told of how he has received hate mail at this year's race, notably following his stage 7 victory last week.
The Belgian, who completed a hat trick of wins in Bordeaux, said that he has received an influx of negative messages on Instagram during the Tour, saying that he "could scroll through them for hours".
Philipsen, speaking in his column for Het Belang van Limburg, said that he's putting the hate mail out of his mind as he looks to Wednesday's stage 11, another sprint chance in Moulins.
"More specifically from an Eritrean angle or from fans of Cavendish," Philipsen said, with stage 7 having seen the teams of Cavendish and Eritrean Biniam Girmay launch protests at his sprint.
"I could scroll through it for hours, but it doesn't make you any happier so I'm not going to bother with it either. Those messages certainly don't throw me off balance."
Philipsen and his Alpecin-Deceuninck team have faced controversy several times during the Tour. Teammate Mathieu van der Poel was relegated on stage 4 in Nogaro after barging Girmay out of the way in the dash to the line.
On stage 7 Philipsen appeared to deviate from his line in the final sprint, moving across to Cavendish's wheel and causing Girmay to break to avoid a collision. UCI commissaires later reviewed the finish and dismissed the protests of Astana Qazaqstan and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
Philipsen said that he came through a hectic, high-paced stage 10 to Issoire "quite comfortably", but any sprint finish on stage 11 will depend on what other teams can do in the chase behind the breakaway.
"Whether there will be an effective sprint in Moulins will also depend on the other teams," he said. "You could argue that, with our three stage wins, we don't need to ride in the lead anymore. But that would not match the style of the house of Alpecin-Deceuninck. We are winners and are not averse to taking responsibility."
A fourth win for Philipsen will also depend on the health of Van der Poel, who had led him out to great success so far this July. The Dutchman has fallen ill in recent days, and wasn't available to speak to press on Wednesday morning, with his team noting that the move was to "save Mathieu's voice/energy".
"I will sleep alone in the room tonight as a precaution," Philipsen said on Tuesday. "It's not ideal that Mathieu is a bit sick, but it's not a drama either.
"I heard him coughing loudly on Monday and during the ride he completely lost his voice. Hopefully, he'll be better soon."
Philipsen also sought to calm the mini furore surrounding his statement on Monday's rest day. Speaking about the upcoming Road World Championships in Glasgow, the Belgian said that he "will never put anything in the way of Mathieu van der Poel".
Belgian coach Sven Vanthourenhout called the statement "unfortunate" and said that he had spoken with the sprinter, adding that any riders selected for the Worlds would be racing for Belgium.
"That's just the fate of a Tour de France rider," Philipsen said of the reaction to his words. "There is a huge magnifying glass aimed at this stage race – you can't avoid it, not even on a rest day.
"Afterwards you see statements from yourself in a context of which you think 'I didn't mean it that way at all'. That is why I am making this clear: of course, I am going to Glasgow as a Belgian, and I will fully commit myself to the national team."
