Jasper Philipsen not only helped deliver his team leader Mathieu van der Poel to victory at Paris-Roubaix, but outsprinted Wout van Aert to take a striking second place and deliver Alpecin-Deceuninck to the top two spots of the podium.
Not considered a Classics specialist, Philipsen surprised many with his strong form in the most renowned of the Cobbled Classics, and the young Belgian sprinter hinted that he would love to return to Paris-Roubaix to vie for overall victory.
"With Mathieu and the second [place] it's a dream come true," Philipsen said following the race. "So I will remember it for a long time."
"Of course, it's also cool to come back later and try to win myself one day," he added. "But we enjoy this moment first."
While Philipsen beat Van Aert to the line, he acknowledged the distinctly superior power of Van der Poel and Van Aert across the race.
"It was clear that Wout and Mathieu were in the strongest in the group," Philipsen said.
"When these guys go, they always have something extra, and you know one moment on the Carrefour they are going. You just try to pedal as hard as I can to try to follow, but for me it was almost impossible."
Much like Van der Poel, Philipsen acknowledged that Van Aert's flat tyre played a critical role in the final situation in the men's race. "I think also today everything went our way - Wout he had a soft tyre," Philipsen said.
While future Paris-Roubaix victory may be in the rider's sights, he stopped short of considering himself a potential Classics specialist. When asked if he could be considered a Classics winner after today, he responded, "Classics like Roubaix? Yes."
"Flanders is something different," he added. "But I think I'm making good steps and that I'm getting stronger every year and that's a good sign.
"I hope to make an extra step next year to really be there with that the best guys."
Alpecin's win at two monuments perhaps tips the balance of what was previously seen as Jumbo-Visma's exceptional Classics season, and Philipsen was quick to credit the team's wider strategy for the turn of fortunes.
"I think we still are quite fresh and this it's only my 15th race this season," Philipsen explained. "We had good preparation with altitude camp and choose our moments.
"I didn't do Flanders, I didn't do E3, I didn't do all the Classics. So that kept me fresh as well," he added. "But of course, we need to have good preparation - we need to have the legs as well."
Philipsen's crash with Degenkolb garnered much attention after the race, and he recollected the incident after the race. "I was taking the lead. I wanted to ride on the side of the road," he recounted. "At exactly this moment, John tried to pass me so we maybe touch each other and he went down. So that's something you don't want, but it's also racing. These things happen."
"I said sorry," he recounted. "But I don't think we can say we really did something wrong. It's just the moment."
