Top sprinter Jasper Filipsen has ended speculation of a move and extended his contract at Alpecin de Tunink until 2028. 

Filipsen announced the news at a pre・Tour de France press conference in Wevergem on Friday to chase more stage victories and defend his green jersey for the 2024 tour. He followed up on it in an Instagram post with simply the caption: "I'm not leaving."

Since joining the Ludhardt brothers' Belgian team from UAE Team Emirates in 2021, Filipsen has established himself as the best sprinter in the world. 

He won 4 stages on last year's tour, with a victory at Milan Sanremo in 2024 and a runner-up behind leader Mathieu van der Poel in the past 2 times at Paris Roubaix, and has developed talent beyond mere flat sprints.

"I've been with the team since 2021 and I feel good here," Filipsen told reporters, including HLN. "We have the same mindset and goals here and I feel at home. I made the decision a while ago. Such is not clear, it will take a while. But it's a natural choice to stay.

While Filipsen had been linked to multiple teams throughout the season, his contract was set to expire after 2024, Alpecin confirmed that he would keep him until the end of 2028, just as he extended van der Poel's contract earlier in the season.

"Our story has not been written yet," Filipsen said. "4 years is a long time, but it's also nice to be able to work together on a sporting basis for a long time and hopefully achieve great success.

His form was not perfect towards the tour after suffering 2 defeats at the hands of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) on the Baloise Belgium tour. But his compatriot can't stand the start line in Florence at 6.29 am, so Filipsen is expected to repeat his sprint dominance from last season.