Albert Withen Philipsen, a lot has been said about him, even though he is only seventeen years old, as the Dane has won the titles of World Road and Mountain Bike Champion and could next Sunday put on another rainbow jersey, that of the title of Cyclocross World Champion.
Offers from various teams
Philipsen could have signed with several teams, including Visma-Lease a Bike, but consciously chose Lidl-Trek.
“I’m very happy with the team. They support me a lot, both on the Road and Mountain Bike. It’s very good,’ he told Dutch website In de Leiderstrui. He will only join the WorldTour team on the road in 2025, as the American cycling team insists that Philipsen first get some experience with the development team.
Offers from various teams
Philipsen could have signed with several teams, including Visma-Lease a Bike, but consciously chose Lidl-Trek.
“I’m very happy with the team. They support me a lot, both on the Road and Mountain Bike. It’s very good,’ he told Dutch website In de Leiderstrui. He will only join the WorldTour team on the road in 2025, as the American cycling team insists that Philipsen first get some experience with the development team.
Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose influenced the selection decision
Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose, two Danish heavyweights can show Philipsen how to do it. “It’s really cool to be able to race with some of your idols. They are among the best Danish cyclists in the world and I admire them, it’s really cool.”
“They give me good tips to improve, and for me it was an important element in choosing Lidl-Trek, it wasn’t the decisive factor, but I saw it as a plus”, reveals the young man honestly.
Pedersen approves choice
Mads Pedersen views all this with approval. “It’s the right choice, because we have everything at Lidl-Trek: a WorldTour team, a training team, a Cyclocross team, Mountain Bike… He’s only seventeen years old and has his whole life ahead of him. This team can help you excel in all disciplines.”
Young people still looking for their specialty
“I’m still trying to figure that out. At the moment I would like to go to the classics, but in the future I don’t think it would be bad to try for a General Classification of a Grand Tour”.
“And I also want to continue mountain biking. Not as many competitions as I have done in recent years, but I would love to go to the 2028 Olympic Games (Los Angeles). That’s a future ambition of mine, maybe then I’ll be more of a Tom Pidcock type in terms of the show.”
