"All these countries with no cycling history, they have riders there who can’t even follow for 10km" - Wout Poels critical of Olympic road race format

After a brilliant 2023 campaign that saw him take stage wins at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana, Wout Poels is targeting Olympic success in 2024. However, the Dutchman does have some gripes about the format of the men's road race.

“I think it’s ridiculous what they’ve done with all the spots," the 36-year-old laments in conversation with GCN. "And I saw that bloody breakdancing is in the Olympics. I’ve had a feeling that in the last 10 years cyclists have really started to target the Olympics more. It’s a real shame that they now make the rules that the peloton will only be 90 riders."

According to Poels, the current format of limiting the number of riders for top teams and giving the lesser teams more chance is actually detrimental for the sport.

"It’s ridiculous because you don’t have all the best riders on the start. Then all these countries with no cycling history, they have riders there who can’t even follow for 10km. It’s a nice Olympic thought but it doesn’t really work," he explains. "Ninety riders in the peloton, it takes some of the shine off. We only have three riders from the Netherlands and if your team has three riders then you almost can’t control the race. You have to make deals with other countries. But if you ask me if I want to go, I still do."