The Tour always calls on its great champions. But even for legends, a victory in the Grande Boucle is practically a vital goal. This is the case with Mathieu Van der Poel, genetically designed to fly on the bike, the quintessential classics specialist, champion of almost everything and several times over. But the Tour… Oh, the Tour! Only two stage wins appeared on his resume as he approaches 32 years old, a meager haul for Poulidor’s grandson. To make matters worse, the design of this edition had left the Dutchman almost without opportunities. But in the midst of darkness, there was a ray of light. A 150-kilometer hell with a wall 25 km from the finish in Ussel. A torture with constant ups and downs. Perfect for classics specialists. Ideal for Mathieu van der Poel.
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If the Dutchman is considered one of the top five of his generation, it is because when his legs respond, even Pogacar himself has to step aside. Yesterday was one of those days. The Alpecin rider had to exercise absolute control of the race on the toughest day for it. He battled against everything and everyone, first leading a breakaway of 16 riders, then keeping UAE and Ineos at bay, always uncomfortable rivals. Later, he was the one who made the definitive selection on the day’s wall, Mont Bessou (900 meters at 7.3% gradient). He had to withstand the push of the chasing group until the last kilometers to finish attacking like a beast with 600 meters to go. The classic Mathieu van der Poel show. A luxury for the Tour. A blessing for cycling.
“I wasn’t very sure in the final part if we would make it, it was hard to keep the distance with the breakaway. Also, we had headwind all day. But I fought for it. It was a festival day. It was a very beautiful day,” said the Dutchman at the finish with a broad smile of satisfaction.
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Until today, his career had been that of a domestique; he had only been able to do the dirty work for a clearly out-of-form Jasper Philipsen. “It was a super tough day. The start of the Tour hasn’t been great for us, but we kept calm. We believed we could turn it around. I have suffered a lot these days, it was hard to recover on the easier days. But today I found the legs to go for it,” he confessed.
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