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Mathieu van der Poel often rode around frustrated in the Tour de France for the past three summers. This year, the organization *does* give the classics specialist chances for success. On Sunday, Van der Poel immediately struck in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The scenario still sounded improbable for Van der Poel on Thursday. No, he and teammate Jasper Philipsen hadn’t talked about an opening weekend in which Philipsen wins the first Tour stage and takes the yellow jersey, and Van der Poel pulls off the same feat a day later.
“If only it were that easy,” ‘MVDP’ said with a smile in the neoclassical opera house of Lille. “I hope it will be a good Tour, but I’ve already had enough less good experiences in this race.”
The caution of Van der Poel was understandable. In 2021, he triumphed immediately in the second stage of his Tour debut. In the seasons after, he won one major classic after another, but he didn’t succeed in the most important cycling race. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, he didn’t finish in the top ten of a road stage once.
On Sunday, that streak comes to a spectacular end in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Van der Poel beats Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in an uphill sprint and conquers the yellow jersey. The dream scenario comes true, as he takes the leader’s jersey from Philipsen.
“I don’t know if this victory will change much about my relationship with the Tour,” says Van der Poel after the second stage. “But of course, I’m incredibly happy that I won today. I know better than anyone how difficult it is to win a Tour stage. I struggled with that in recent years. That’s why we tried a different approach this season.”
Van der Poel beats Pogacar and Vingegaard in sprint for Tour stage win
Van der Poel went to Dauphiné for Tour
A month ago, Van der Poel had to concede to Pogacar and Vingegaard in the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. That result was disappointing, but his performance mainly gave Van der Poel a first indication that he and his team had made a good choice.
The past three years, the 2023 world champion didn’t start in the Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse, traditionally the two most important preparation races for the Tour. Last season, Van der Poel didn’t even ride a single race between Liège-Bastogne-Liège (end of April) and the start of the Tour de France (end of June).
“We knew that the first ten days of the Tour would be very important for Mathieu,” says Kristof De Kegel, Van der Poel’s trainer. “That’s why we decided to build a bit more intensity into the training and a bit more competition into his preparation. Mathieu really wanted to ride the Dauphiné to gain race hardness. As usual, he was right.”
Van der Poel showed himself very often in the Dauphiné. A little too often, to the liking of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team management. “We regularly have to temper him a little bit. Mathieu doesn’t always do what we say,” says De Kegel with a smile. “I think Mathieu listened to us for 50 percent in the Dauphiné. That’s a good score for him.”
That good score pays off on the second day of the Tour de France. “It’s clear that Mathieu has started the Tour in better condition this year than last year,” says team boss Philip Roodhooft of Alpecin-Deceuninck. “The puzzle has fallen together very well.”
Tour course suits Van der Poel much better this year
The most important puzzle piece for a better Tour for Van der Poel was beyond his control. In recent years, the organization barely chose stages that resembled a classic. This edition, there *are* several stages in the opening week with steep hills in the final.
On Sunday, the riders in Northern France have to go over three climbs in the last 30 kilometers. The finish is also on a hill. Van der Poel couldn’t have drawn it up better for himself.
“Mathieu, but also other riders of his caliber, have given an implication message to the Tour organization that there should be a few more opportunities for him,” says Roodhooft. “Those opportunities are there this year, that’s clear.”
Van der Poel explored the final of the second stage on Sunday morning by watching a video of the final kilometers several times.
“I then knew exactly what I wanted to do. Try to survive the heavier climbs and then remain patient in the last 10 kilometers. I executed that plan perfectly. So it has indeed become a great Tour start for the team. We hope to keep that up for as long as possible.”