The Belgian Jasper Philipsen won the 1st stage of the Tour of Belgium by sprinting ahead of the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen and the Belgian Timothy Dupont, Wednesday in Scherpenheuvel (north). The Alpecin rider signed his sixth victory of the season, the 29th of his career, to take the leader’s jersey. In the general classification, he is two seconds ahead of his Dutch teammate Mathieu van der Poel, sixth in the stage, but second overall thanks to the bonuses gleaned during the stage.
Van der Poel, who is competing in the Tour of Belgium as a preparation for the Grande Boucle, was one of the leaders of the day by being part of a group of ten breakaways in the company of the Dane Casper Pedersen and the Belgian Jasper. Stuyven. These men were caught two kilometers from the line.
Thursday, the 2nd stage takes the peloton from Merelbeke to Knokke-Heist after 175.7 kilometers along the North Sea, on a route that will end with a local circuit.
