Compatriot of Mathieu van der Poel believes he should skip Tour de France: "There’s just not much in it for him in this Tour"
CyclingThursday, 31 October 2024 at 12:41
In 2023 Mathieu van der Poel raced the Tour de France and proved to be an excellent leadout for Jasper Philipsen, whilst preparing for the World Championships in which he won. In 2024 he rode the Tour but was largely absent and far from his best form, whilst it didn't lead to a result post-Tour. Laurens Ten Dam, former pro and current gravel racer, argues the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider should not race it in 2025.
Van der Poel hinted at a possible absence from the Tour, instead focusing on Mountain Biking and a possible debut at the Vuelta a España next season. "If he really wants to become world champion in mountain biking, then he doesn’t necessarily have to go to the Tour," Ten Dam said in his 'Live Slow Ride Fast' podcast.
However this Tuesday morning the 2025 Tour route was revealed and features a parcours very different than that of the past three edition. In 2021 Van der Poel won a stage and wore the yellow jersey in the first week due to the punchy finales that were presented. Ever since that has been absent, and instead favoured the climbers - whilst 2022 was not badly suited, the race started with a time-trial in Denmark that created big gaps right away.
This year there was a gravel stage, whilst previously we've had cobblestones at the Tour. None will be the case next summer. "That would really have been a stage for him. There’s just not much in it for him in this Tour, so I understand why he’s saying, 'I don’t know, I’ve done it twice already.' He’s pulled eighteen sprints for Jasper Philipsen".
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However the first week of the next edition will feature hilly finales on stages 2 and 4 before a time-trial where differences will be created and the chances of him wearing the yellow jersey fade. But still we've got hilltop finishes in stages 6 and 7 - the latter in the Mur-de-Bretagne where his sole Tour stage thus far - and then again on stage 11 into Toulouse. It's a route that actually provides plenty opportunities for the classics specialists and one where van der Poel has very realistic chances of winning and chasing his own goals.
But Ten Dam believes that is not enough to make the choice to focus on the Grand Boucle once again, and that it's a year to make a change: "He went to the Tour for that. He’s also done the World Championships and became the gravel world champion. He’s raced so much on the road, and the playful Mathieu might just want to try something new."
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- In the mountains, sure, but he can do a lot of damage elsewhere. Ideal from a spectator pov would be Remco going for broke on tt and flat stages forcing Pog to chase and then when Pog and Vin attack each other in the mountains, Remco can ride his own pace without losing time, that way we could get a 3-way race.Mistermaumau22-06-2025
- The only way RE can get better is to get more stage racer riders around him or move teams with an exclusive stage racing background.. 🤷 the team he's on now don't know whether to go back to being a GREAT classics Team or go full 'stage race...
leedorney22-06-2025 - If it was war it would be treason .🤣🤣 Lol. EDF director rode for Italy at the worlds as his trade team mates were Itallian and was banned for representing GB. 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Brother missing the point totally it could have changed the winner of the Giro.Nothing to see here storm in tea cup .paultryan200222-06-2025
- Almeida has been on fire all week, let's see if he can do it!awp22-06-2025
- Second in Fleche Wallone on the Mur de Huy, twice. He may just be able to beat Almeida tomorrow.RidesHills21-06-2025
- Let's go, João!!! "Bota lume" 💥💥💥Lobz7721-06-2025
- Easy, lightweight bike for the climb, aero bike for the downhill ride. They will know whether it's worth the logistic headache and time loss due to bike change.
KerisVroom21-06-2025 - Remco is not at the two's level and he will have to deal with attacks from behind. His team is useless even if it would be goodabstractengineer21-06-2025
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There are stages for him to win! MvDP employer and paycheck signer will no doubt encourage him to focus on the Tour and the few stage finishes that suit hiim vs sitting at home not getting any exposure for their team.
look, i think mathieu is always at his best when he’s doing whatever he’s most excited and passionate about. he’s certainly earned the right to chase whatever dreams and goals he wants. if that’s not the Tour then so be it. THAT SAID… to me that first week looks like it was made for him. but he’d have to get all cranked up about grabbing some of those stages and maybe the yellow jersey, like he was in his first tour. that was FAMILY BUSINESS for him, and he turned himself inside out for it. since then the tour just really hasn’t captured his imagination to near that level.
Their is no point in being a leadout for Philippsen for 21 days of a grueling race. The UAE vs Visma battle make breakaways a nightmare to navigate.