The last rider to win a Monument Classic not named Tadej Pogačar or Mathieu van der Poel is Jasper Philipsen. Back in 2024, he was the fastest on Via Roma, perfectly led out by his teammate Van der Poel. Since then, it has been a Slovenian-Dutch duopoly, with everyone else forced to settle for podium places or less.

In the collective imagination, Philipsen is seen as one of the strongest sprinters in the world – and rightly so, otherwise he would not have won 10 stages at the Tour de France and 6 at the Vuelta a España. But reducing him to just that would be misleading, because very few sprinters in the Pogačar era can crest a climb like Poggio with the front group. He did, and then won the reduced sprint, but he has also finished runner-up at Paris–Roubaix not once but twice. The Belgian is definitely more than just a regular sprinter.

Today he turns 28, and in about three weeks he will once again line up at the start of La Classicissima. The objective will be the same: survive the Poggio (and, judging by how 2025 unfolded, the Cipressa as well), hope no one manages to escape, and then unleash his sprint on Via Roma, exactly as he did two years ago. On his side, once again, will be Van der Poel, tasked with keeping the unpredictable Slovenian under control.

Philipsen began his season at the Volta ao Algarve, without particularly shining. “I feel quite good, I had a long training camp in preparation for the Classics, but in Algarve I was missing a bit of explosiveness to win a stage,” said the Belgian. “But we have bigger goals in mind.” And we know exactly what those are. In the meantime, happy birthday, Jasper!