Wout Poels (35 years old) He was one of the best domestiques Chris Froome ever had in its many years of splendor. In 2020, the Dutchman decided to change teams and joined the ranks of Bahrain, where he is one of the most valued riders along with the Spanish roster made up of Pello Bilbao and Mikel Landa. This is the 22nd victory of his career, in which he already wore a Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2016) above and now adds a stage of the Tour, the first time he has triumphed in a grand tour. It is his third success of the season after winning a day and the general in the Vuelta a Andalucía.
And for Bahrain it was not another day, since it was an exact month since the death of Gino Mader, the teammate to whom they dedicated the victory as Pello Bilbao would do days ago. The number 61, which would correspond to one of the team members, is not used in memory of the late Mader. “From a very young age I dreamed of winning a stage in the Tour de France; and, obviously, the emotions experienced within the team in recent weeks due to what happened with Gino increased this desire. I think he was helping me from above.” said the one from Bahrain before the media. After some great years of gregariousness, accompanying a four-time Tour de France winner like Froome, this time the prize came to Poels on an individual level.
“I really enjoyed my time at Sky, it was something incredible, but I could never go for a stage win. Yes, I was able to do it this time and I’m very happy. I got sick in the training session before the Tour de France and had to skip the Critérium du Dauphiné. Luckily I was able to go to the Tour of Slovenia. It went well for me and the team brought me to the Tour. I thought I could do well in the third week, and here I am”, concluded a happy Poels.