Dubai: UAE Team Emirates’ Belgian youngster Jasper Philipsen is eager to carry forward his fine form of this season into next year.
A first time starter at the 2019 Tour de France, the 21-year-old from Flanders won Stage 5 of the Tour Down Under before a couple of second-place finishes at the Grand Prix of Fourmies and Heistse Pijl and rounding off with three podium finishes in the Nokere Koerse, Elfstedenronde and Brussels Cycling Classic.
“I think our team has the possibility of being the best, but this won’t happen overnight. We will need time to evolve. The good thing is that everyone is aiming for this top spot with a lot of thrust on the younger riders. And this only means the team is thinking about the future,” Philipsen told Gulf News.
“Considering all this, 2020 has to be a year where we have to improve from this year. I had a good season personally, that perhaps didn’t reflect with wins. Maybe I fell a little bit short, but this will change next season.
“This team wants to improve and they have the ambition to be one of the best. There is a good spirit and the focus is to keep the momentum going. It is this spirit, along with the support we are receiving from the UAE, that can help us reach the top and be the best team.”
