Mathieu van der Poel has found himself a new role within Alpecin-Deceuninck this year and at the Tour de France he's been thriving in it. He's become the peloton's new leadout star, and father Adrie van der Poel argues he can even fight for bunch sprints at this point.
"We are very happy, but the party is not that exuberant. The penny now falls in the right direction, but they often say that you enforce it. We are one of the only teams that came here without GC ambitions, and then you can also take half a rest day on certain days. As far as that is possible," Adrie van der Poel said in the Vive le Vélo show.
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Van der Poel assisted Philipsen in the leadouts at Tirreno-Adriatico earlier in the year as he was building form towards the classics, and after the experience going extremely well, the team have had him in mind to continue the work with the Belgian at the Tour de France where had had the plan to chase stage wins and the green jersey.
"In the first flat stage it is immediately prize, which brings a lot of confidence to the team. The difference with last year is huge, but that applies to the whole team. You saw that the team was not really busy with the stages in the Basque Country, but with stages three and four."
Sure enough on both occasions Alpecin and van der Poel led out Philipsen perfectly to the line. On stage 7 the leader of the points classification delivered once again with a third stage win, again with the crucial assistance of van der Poel in the final meters. “I prefer to see Mathieu doing those lead-outs rather than sprinting. It would be stupid not to participate in that, and then you also have to look back to spring. They also had a lot of support for each other.
"The nice thing about it is that they can enjoy the success together. The way Mathieu rides now, he can also win mass sprints. I think so, but in the sprint you always have to be a bit lucky," Adrie argues. Although van der Poel has a very sharp acceleration, he's never been very involved in bunch sprints as they favour those with sustained raw power - although van der Poel can do quite well on hilly days, specially those with an uphill drag to the line.
Today's stage 8 into Limoges provides both with an opportunity to go for the win, and it'll be interesting to see how the Belgian team plays out. "In terms of top speed, Philipsen is faster and I think he can handle that trip to Limoges, but so can the Mathieu's and Pogacars of this world. However, Philipsen's green jersey is still very important," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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