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Currently, can definitely be up for debate.
Mads is stronger, Philipsen is faster.
Too bad neither got to sprint all out. Merlier's front wheel was to the left of Van Poppel, which is why he tried to pass him on the left, but by that time there was no more space.
Yes, before he was a pro. There is even an Instagram post by Boonen with a picture of them training together once, with a caption aluding "the old one and the new one".
Good call on the Boonen thing. I remember an interview with Boonen where they were asking him who would be the next Boonen (or similar to him), and he mentioned Jasper and Cian . At least I think it was Cian although it might have been Remco.
He certainly 'fills the Boonen void' of Belg winners, but I guess I never looked at him as being Boonen like.Yes, before he was a pro. There is even an Instagram post by Boonen with a picture of them training together once, with a caption aluding "the old one and the new one".
"Den ouwe" Boonen fietst met de nieuwe Boonen | sporza
Tom Boonen is een rondje gaan rijden met zijn opvolger Jasper Philipsen. Op Instagram post hij een foto van het onderonsje. "Den ouwe en de nieuwe", schrijft Boonen met een smiley.sporza.be
At that time he was still not sure what type of rider he would become. Typical classics/cobbled rider or more a real sprinter. He turned out to be faster than anticipated. Maybe if his speed winds down, he will focus less on sprints and more on becoming a hardman. But he is a lot less tall than Boonen (and much more manoeuvrable), and guys like Pedersen and De Lie remind me of Boonen more than Philipsen.
It's possible, i've never heard it personally, but it would make sense. Stuyven actually has a lot more in common with Boonen, he's taller and heavier than Philipsen, is not a real sprinter but pretty fast in a sprint etc. Stuyven climbs a bit better than Boonen (a lot actually) but he is missing that top-end. Glad for him that he managed to win his monument.
Next day and Merlier sounds really whiney. I had to go back and look at the finish again as I have considered Jasper Disaster to be a bit of a loose cannon in the past, but he did nothing wrong in that sprint. Van Poppel and Melier were almost at the center of the road when Philipsen started to go by them on the left side of the road and was level with Merlier when contact was made. I blame Van Poppel he made the big deviation, with Merlier already hooked up with his rear wheel he really had no place else to go. But it wasn't Philipsen's fault, he had 3 choices brake and lose, go into the barriers, or hold his ground. Which he did pretty well!
www.cyclingnews.com
The interview you posted was not "next day" but immediately after the race. It's simply a post race interview immediately after the facts that took a day to get translated and posted on CN.
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