With a victory in Milan-San Remo, Jasper Philipsen takes a new step in his career. He can also take extra-sporting steps in the coming months. His contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck has expired, and there are potential contenders.
BVDC AND JDK March 17, 2024, 4:59 PM
“I hope he stays with us now.” Mathieu van der Poel had not even crossed the finish line on the Via Roma for a minute and had not yet been asked a question, but with his first words he made a statement.
Jasper Philipsen’s contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck will expire after this season. During last year’s Tour, where he took four stage wins, a contract extension with brothers Philip and Christoph Roodhooft seemed a formality. Six months later, talks are still ongoing.
Neither party wants to elaborate. “It’s Milan-San Remo and the weather is good,” sporting director Christoph Roodhooft replied laconically to questions about Philipsen’s future.
REAL ESTATE AGENT of pogacar
Since the Tour, things have changed quite a bit in Philipsen’s entourage. The rider now works with an agent. He used to do that too, but not anymore. “I have no problem handling contract negotiations myself. Alpecin-Deceuninck pays me a market-based price. Then I don’t need a third party involved who has nothing to do with me or the team but still takes a cut,” Philipsen said a year ago.
For several months now, however, Philipsen has been working with AEJ, the real estate agency of Alex Carera (also the agent for Tadej Pogacar and Cian Uijtdebroeks) and its Belgian branch, lawyers Ben Leyman and Arne Sabbe. They are now handling the negotiations on Philipsen’s behalf.
Several teams have registered their interest in Philipsen in recent months. Tudor, UAE, and Bora-Hansgrohe have already shown concrete interest. Tudor is Fabian Cancellara’s Swiss Pro Continental team. They have a substantial nest egg to spend for 2025, but have already reached an agreement with Marc Hirschi. Moreover, they will never be able to earn enough UCI points in the next two years to join the WorldTour starting in 2026, unless they acquire another team’s license.
UAE Team Emirates is also joining in the fun. “We love Jasper Philipsen. What team wouldn’t want Philipsen? That’s the same question as what team wouldn’t want Pogacar?” says a senior source within UAE.
Philipsen and Pogacar are good friends, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be beneficial during negotiations. Pogacar’s closest racing buddy is Michael Matthews. He rides for Jayco-AlUla, not UAE.
Philipsen already rode for UAE in 2019 and 2020. He left for a reason, didn’t he? Other sprinters like Fernando Gaviria and Pascal Ackermann also didn’t have a successful run with the Emirati team. Ackermann, now with Israel-Premier Tech, wasn’t happy with his bike at UAE. All the riders there ride Colnagos, which aren’t as stiff as the sprinters prefer. Moreover, it seems unlikely that Philipsen will get a spot in the Tour squad at UAE.
HELP FROM WORLD CHAMPION
Philipsen is in a better position at Alpecin-Deceuninck, especially on the sporting front. He clicks with Van der Poel. The world champion outsprinted Philipsen in the final two kilometers of Milan-Sanremo, even though, given his own speed, he could have sprinted for the win himself.
Van der Poel: “I think Jasper is in the right place in this team, but that’s not the only thing that matters.”
The Milan-San Remo win certainly didn’t hurt Philipsen’s market value, but it’s not like a million euros suddenly added to his value. Philipsen was already in the high-end segment (between €1 and €2 million per year). Is that a price the Roodhooft brothers are willing to pay for the long term?
Within Philipsen’s entourage, it’s said that negotiations with the various teams won’t drag on for months, but they’ll definitely wait until after the classics to make a decision. They don’t want Philipsen to have too many worries during this crucial period, so he can focus solely on his sporting activities. And with success.