"Apparently, he did that" - Sven Nys' on Mathieu van der Poel's 'silent' training and weapon for the Tour de France
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel has largely gone under the radar at the recent Tour de Suisse, with the exception of the race's time trial where he finished second to Tadej Pogacar. Apparently, the Alpecin - Premier Tech has been doing quite a lot of time trialing work, according to Sven Nys.
The Dutchman hoped to contest the opening hilly stages in Switzerland but on both instances, the pace of UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Pogacar threw him off contention completely on the longer ascents.
His form was almost a complete unknown into the time trial, but there he surprised. Whilst stronger riders on paper such as Mathias Vacek and Brandon McNulty struggled through the flat effort, it was van der Poel himself who provided the yellow jersey with the biggest challenge. The gap at the line: a mere 0.3 seconds.
Van der Poel has performed well in time trials over the past, but his ability continues to surprise, as it is very far from his priority. But cyclocross legend Sven Nys argues that behind the scenes, the classics specialist has indeed been training a lot on the bike.
Mathieu van der Poel in time trial action at the 2026 Tour de Suisse
Hard work in silence for van der Poel
"He has worked very hard in silence, focusing mainly on functioning well in that position," Nys said in an interview with Sporza. "Everyone knows that Mathieu can ride fast. But if you want to do that in a time trial, you really have to spend hours and hours on it, in that position. Apparently, he did that, and it paid off."
This could be because of the upcoming Tour de France, which begins with a team time trial in Barcelona. The hilly finale will suit him, and in the following days there will be other hilly stages. Obtaining a yellow jersey is possible, but only if the Dutchman is able to really cut his losses on the opening day.
The Belgian manager believes that Alpecin has a specific goal in the opening stages, as happened 12 months ago. "His team will certainly have the ambition to score very quickly, possibly with a Jasper Philipsen or Mathieu van der Poel himself."
Read also
Nys positive that Alpecin will have a good Tour
Philipsen and van der Poel won the first two stages at last year's Tour and both wore the yellow jersey. Whilst it is impossible this time around to repeat the feat, it does not hamper what the Belgian team can do.
After winning the Baloise Belgium Tour, the sprinter has shown terrific form just at the right time. "Philipsen is fast, of course, but we get the best Philipsen when the race is made hard and there are some climbs involved."
"It is nice to see that all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place in that final phase," Nys believes.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- anybody can calculate the numbers of Tadej , its not secret. We already have the parcour distance elevation data, we have the strava data of a number of riders for reference, we have Pogi's time vs distance. Form there Pogi numbers on every climb can be calculated. Having numbers means nothingabstractengineer12-11-2026
- Again completely stupid. THere is a reason Pogi is Goat, nobody can match his performances, it is physiologically impossible for a rider to equal thru training , nutrition(Pogi has better or equal) and equipment.(Pogi has better or equal) . its mainly genetic.abstractengineer12-11-2026
- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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