Jasper Philipsen not only led team leader Mathieu van der Pol to victory in Paris-Roubaix, but also finished second ahead of Wout van Aert, pushing Alpecin Deceuninck into the top two spots on the podium.

Not considered a Classics specialist, Philipsen surprised many with his strong showing in the most famous cobbled classics, and the young Belgian sprinter hinted that he would like to return to Paris-Roubaix to compete for the overall win.

"Second place with Mathieu is a dream come true," Philipsen said after the race. 'So I won't forget it for a long time.'

"Of course it would be cool to come back later and try to win it myself one day," he said. But first you have to enjoy the moment."

Philipsen finished ahead of Van Aert, but acknowledged that Van der Pol and Van Aert were clearly superior throughout the race.

"It was clear that Wout and Mathieu were the strongest of the group," Philipsen said.

"Whenever these two go, they always have something special. I just pedaled hard and tried to keep up, but it was almost impossible for me."

Like van der Pol, Philipsen acknowledged that Van Aert's puncture played a decisive role in the final status of the men's race. Wout was on soft tires."

While a future Paris-Roubaix victory may be in his sights, he does not consider himself a Classics specialist. When asked, "What do you think of Roubaix?" he replied, "Classics like Roubaix, you know.

"Flanders is something different. But I think we are taking good steps and getting stronger every year."

"Next year I want to step it up even more and be able to run with the top athletes."

Alpecin's two monumental victories probably upset the balance of what was seen as an exceptional classic season for Jumbo Visma.

"I'm still fresh and this is only my 15th race of the season. We had good preparation at the high altitude training camp and we were able to run at our own time," Philipsen explained.

"We didn't run Flanders, E3, and all the Classics. So we were able to stay fresh. Of course you need good preparation and you need good legs."

Philipsen's crash with Degenkolb received a lot of attention after the race. I was in the lead. I was in the lead. At that very moment, John was trying to pass me, and maybe we touched, but that's racing. But that's racing. But this is racing, too.

"I said I was sorry. But I don't think I can say I did anything really bad. But I don't think you can say you did anything really bad.