03/11/2022

Danny van Poppel: "Paris-Roubaix? Everyone says I should be able to win there, but I don't care"

BORA - hansgrohe have signed Danny van Poppel into 2022, a transfer which proved successful as the Dutchman proved to be one of the single best leadout men of the entire season. Despite his multi-talented skillset, he says he does not seek to focus on the cobbled classics.

“I am part of the classic core of the team. I like a few classics, but I've never had a connection with them," van Poppel told Wielerflits in a recent interview. "I often hear that and that's why they often want me to do classics, but if I'm honest I don't like that much. Let me enjoy the sprint.”

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Van Poppel, originally a sprinter, developed as a rider who can handle the climbs and the classics. Last year in 2021 his two wins - at the Egmont Cycling Race and Binche - Chimay - Binche - were in tough races, the latter he won solo. He has had several career wins over the one-day races of Belgium and the Netherlands, however he feels at comfort with his sprinting capacity.

“Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Gent-Wevelgem are for sprinters, and I like the Tour of Flanders because it's so big, but a Paris-Roubaix? Everyone says I should be able to win there, but I don't care about that," he admits.

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In 2022, signed by BORA, he was given the role of leadout man for Sam Bennett. The Irishman struggled with form however throughout most of the season, occasionally giving freedom to the 29-year old, who's finished 4th at the European Championships, twice on the podium of Vuelta a Espana sprints, and participated in the sprints at the Tour de France aswell.

“Maybe I could have switched to the classics, but I'm too much of a sprinter for that to go into the final with guys like Dylan van Baarle and the like," he is aware. "So I'll stick to my specialty. My father always says: something you are good at, you should focus on that, and nothing else.”