Junior Jasper Schoofs sprints to third place in E3 Saxo Classic: “The new training method is clearly successful” (Mol)

“I have shown myself to be at the forefront of the competition several times,” Jasper Schoofs reflected. “But for various reasons I was unable to drive to the finish alone or with a select group. Well, even a top talent like Albert Philipsen had to admit that there was nothing he could do against a chasing peloton. Although, and I would like to say this, I would have liked to see if the two of us could have achieved it.”

De Mollenaar explains: “On both the Paterberg and the Kwaremont, my gap to the Dane was never really that big. And after the Tiegem it was halved to about ten seconds. Unfortunately, before I could completely close the gap, the peloton grabbed me by the wrists.”

Philipsen was also unable to complete his number winningly. He finished 32nd. That makes the third place that Schoofs was able to achieve even more remarkable. “I was angry and disappointed that I had not succeeded. On adrenaline and with the confidence of fourth place in Ghent-Wevelgem, I decided to focus on the final sprint. So I definitely deserved third place and the podium photo.”

Another wonderful performance in a spring competition for the Acrog-Tormans rider. “The new training method led by Roman Vanstaen is clearly successful. Compared to the past, I train less and rest a lot more. That this is the right formula has already been proven several times this year.”

The 18-year-old rider will take part in the BC time trial on Wednesday. The Nations Cup will follow afterwards, which means he is not on the list of participants for the Tour of Flanders. “You have to make choices. The Ronde also has the necessary appeal among the juniors, but not to the extent that it does among the pros. So leave that for the future.” (laughs)