The Belgian Jasper Philipsenwinner of the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France, assured that this is the “last chance for the sprinters” and that “they have to take advantage of it.”
“Unfortunately, This year there is no stage in Paris and this is the last time, because Nice is more hilly. We have to take advantage,” said the Alpecin cyclist.
Philipsen, who added his third victory in the edition in Nimes, indicated that he will fight the rest to seize the green jersey of regularity from the Eritrean Biniam Girmay, from whom he is separated by 28 points.
Girmay fell 1.5 kilometers from the finish line and was unable to fight for the finish. “I hope he recovers well.”, is having a great Tour and I hope he fights for the green jersey. “I’ll try to take it from him until the end, the Tour doesn’t end until Nice,” said the Belgian.
“We came to the Tour with the aim of winning a stage and the green jersey. And we continue to fight for this second goal. I am very satisfied with the three stages that I won. Winning the Tour is so complicated that one should be proud to have achieved three victories,” he commented.
The Belgian admitted that he had “few options” to take the green jersey from the Burmese, “5%,” he said, but he assured that he would take advantage of them until the end. “I want to finish the Tour, but that’s an extra motivation to achieve it,” he added.
To win the regularity classification for the second year in a row, the Belgian will have to find points in the intermediate sprints, as the rest of the days are mountainous.
“They are going to be tough days, I have to deal with mountainous stages. The Pyrenees have been very difficult, but I think I’m in better shape now, better than at the beginning. “I think I’m more confident tackling these mountain stages,” he commented.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
