Albert Withen Philipsen overcame an early crash to win Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, arm-in-arm with his teammate, Jakob Söderqvist
Lidl-Trek Future Racing came to Paris-Roubaix with a plan in mind, and the legs to execute it. But the day got off to a rough start. A massive crash in the opening phase disrupted the race and claimed Hector Alvarez, who unfortunately broke his elbow and was taken to hospital. Albert Withen Philipsen was also caught in the chaos and needed a bike change. The 18-year-old Dane had to dig deep to rejoin the peloton, just like teammate Seb Grindley, who also went down early on.
Despite the setbacks, the team stayed calm and regrouped. Once the race settled, the boys took control at the front, riding smart, aggressive and united.
Feeling it was the moment to strike, Withen Philipsen launched his first attack. It was reeled back in, but it had only been a test. A few kilometers later, he jumped again, this time with full force. Behind him, Jakob Söderqvist marked the chasers, then jumped across to form a powerful duo at the front.
Together they powered through the final kilometers and entered the legendary Roubaix velodrome side by side. Philipsen was the first to cross the line, but the image of him and Söderqvist finishing arm in arm will stay with them and with us for a long time.
With Withen Philipsen’s victory in Roubaix, he inherits the cobblestone trophy from teammate Tim Torn Teutenberg, last year’s winner, and Lidl-Trek Future Racing’s record in the Hell of the North remains perfect.
Albert Withen Philipsen: “To be honest, I didn’t really think about last year’s result, it has been such a hard day so, I was just enjoying the moment. I think it’s special to win a race like this but it’s even more special to be able to share the experience with a teammate. Jakob is an amazing guy and to share this victory with him, I’m really happy to do that.
“I attacked first and then Jakob, he was super strong today, so he was able to bridge the gap alone and then we were just riding together until the end. We didn’t really talk much about who was going to win, we just rode together and then whoever got it, got it.
“I don’t think I’ve decided which kind of rider I want to be yet. I still want to explore some different races and see how my body develops and then I will take it there in the future.
“I think I’m the person that puts the most pressure on myself so I don’t think it’s really that big of a problem and the Team is super supportive and they don’t really push me to do anything so, I’ve been feeling super comfortable in this first period of the year. I think everybody hopes so [that I could become a world champion] but I don’t really want to compare myself with other riders, I just want to be myself and see where that takes me.”
Jakob Soderqvist: “We were confident the days before this race and this is something we maybe thought at night yesterday, but it’s not impossible. But to dare to believe it, you don’t really want to take anything out before it’s done. When everything started to pan out, when I saw both of us in the group, when we started putting the pressure on, everything was going our way, and we could really decide the race. It’s incredible, I will remember this for the rest of my life.
“I wanted to share the moment [coming into the velodrome together and crossing the finish line hand in hand], and whoever’s front wheel is first, I don’t care. Albert, he deserves it so much. He was out the back, he was crashing at one point, he had some difficulties along the way, and he always made it up to me in the right moment and I think he was the strongest today.
“It’s something big to be on the podium here, and it’s something I wanted to prove to myself I could do, because these one-day Classics are something different from normal stage racing. I wanted to show myself that if I just focus on one day, I can do all the right moves, and really have the legs that I need. For sure, I knew that I could be good enough to win today, and what me and Albert showed today was just, everything made of dreams. I think this is a race that can suit me in the future too.”
