‘I don’t want to risk it all for this one stage’ – Jasper Philipsen cautiously dreams of a yellow-tinged opening to the 2025 Tour de France

It may have taken a while for Jasper Philipsen to hit his stride at this year’s Tour de France, but he nevertheless captured a trio of wins. Next season, however, the early stakes have changed so there is every reason for the Alpecin Deceuninck rider, and every other sprinter for that matter, to try and hit the ground running.

That motivation comes in the form of a yellow jersey, with the opening flat stage of the 2025 Tour de France, immediately piquing the interest of the sprinters when the route was announced at the end of October. Though, that doesn’t mean for a second they are forgetting about what comes after the day of racing in Lille Métropole.