As the Tour de France rolls on without Jasper Philipsen following his crash and abandon on stage 3, the Belgian sprinter has given an update on his condition and hinted at possible plans for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Philipsen, who won the opening stage of the race and headed up the green jersey standings after two days of racing, went down hard in a collision with Bryan Coquard at the intermediate sprint on the road to Dunkerque.
He immediately abandoned the race, having suffered fractures to his ribs and collarbone, as well as extensive road rash on his back.
He's healing up well, he told Het Laatste Nieuws on Tuesday, but he indicated that peaking for a third time this season will be tough. A Vuelta a España debut could be on the cards, however.
"Maybe the Vuelta, but we still have to see if that's feasible. It hasn't been discussed yet. If you don't do anything for a week, you quickly lose a lot of fitness," Philipsen said.
"It's clear the biggest goals of the season are behind me. The upcoming races are good, but they're not at the same level as before. It will be hard to prepare myself, mentally and physically, for them.
"I'll get back on track eventually. Every rider has a bad season at some point in their career; let's hope this is mine. But it's not pleasant. There have been some good ups this year, but mostly a lot of downs."
The Tour crash wasn't Philipsen's first of the 2025 season. The 27-year-old also went down hard at Nokere Koerse in March, compromising his spring Classics campaign. He called this one "physically, definitely the toughest of my career", also noting that it has been a challenge mentally as "It's difficult to abandon your plans like this and start from scratch."
Philipsen, of course, had ambitions to battle for the green jersey – now held by Jonathan Milan – and add more stage wins to his Tour de France tally. That went up in smoke last week, and now he'll instead be setting his sights on lesser goals, with races such as the Bretagne Classic-Ouest France and Paris-Tours among those late-season events he could take on.
But while the mental challenge of recalibrating his goals and returning to full fitness still lies ahead, physically, at least, Philipsen is healing well from his injuries.
"I broke one or two ribs, but they were secondary to the doctors. The fractures are very clean and they don't bother me much, only when I cough," Philipsen said.
"My collarbone fracture is much more complex. That's where I was in the most pain, but since yesterday, I can manage without painkillers, and I feel pretty good now.
"The road rash and abrasions are also healing well. Almost my entire back was open – in the past, that always used to bother me for a long time, but it's been a week, and the injuries have mostly healed. I think that's because I was in top form, which always helps you heal faster, and also because I took it easy for a week."
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