Mathieu van der Poel (28 years old) had had an excellent season until the Tour, with two Monuments included (Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix) and even a general classification: the Tour of Belgium. In this way he reached the Tour de France, a test in which he participates for the third time, without finishing any of the previous two. In 2022 he did not have a good feeling and left without hardly being seen, while, in 2021, at its premiere he was the protagonist in the initial days since he managed to conquer a stage, the second, and dress in the yellow jersey, something that his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, could not after pursuing him throughout his career. just last week poupou he was honored by the Tour in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, where he is buried. His grandson, on the podium before leaving, could barely speak, his voice cracking with emotion.
As for sports, Van der Poel is being Philipsen’s luxury pitcherwho already has four wins in volatas on this Tour, three of them with Mathieu as the final pitcher. The Belgian is so grateful that he dropped these days that, against his teammate, from the Netherlands, he would not compete in the Glasgow World Cup in August. With yesterday’s, Mathieu completed the eleven stages of this edition, going further than in his two other participations. However, at the start at Clermont-Ferrand, his team sounded the alarm: “To save Mathieu van der Poel’s voice/energy, he won’t do any interviews before the start. Those who want an upgrade, however, can head to the team bus.”
And the one who came down to explain was Christoph Roodhooft, one of the directors, which issued a message of reassurance. “It shows great improvement. His infection is still present, but the night was better, with a little less coughing, which allowed him to sleep more hours in a row. He is not fully recovered, so we will try to make you have a few quiet days, ”said the Belgian. Asked if he would be a pitcher for Philpsen, as usual, he made it clear: “Yes, in theory and if he can, that will be his only task.” Finally, he yesterday he couldn’t do it. Still limping The stage won by Pello Bilbao in Issoire was one of the most noted by Van der Poel in this edition, and showed his “frustration” for not being able to fight for that stage. He still has ten stages ahead of him, the first one being a good opportunity today with broken ground.