"I don't think he has his mind set on that" - Tom Dumoulin believes Mathieu van der Poel will skip the battle for the first yellow jersey

The 2024 Tour de France will start next Saturday in Florence with a difficult opening stage, where stakes will be high. Over 3800 altitude meters in 200+ kilometeres-long stage is immediately going to test everyone's legs. And as always, the Maillot Jaune is of course in the offer.

Whether classic types like Mathieu van der Poel have a chance of winning the first yellow jersey? "No," says ex-pro Tom Dumoulin at In het Wiel. "The GC teams will be so nervous and ride so fast because of that nervousness, which will automatically make the stage too grueling for Van der Poel. I don't think he has his mind set on that either. It's too hard."

"I would sort out my days, but in the last week I wouldn't be bothered anymore. Find a nice grupetto and chill a bit. I think that is the way to excel at the Games. He specializes more in classics. He has not necessarily become a better climber in recent years. It is often all or nothing. I love that. He can pull off such a punch and win so beautifully, but can also be so invisible at times."

"If he wins a stage, preferably the one in Troyes, and then contributes two or three times to Philipsen's stage win, rides invisibly for the rest of the Tour and then becomes a glorious Olympic champion, then that seems like a fantastic scenario to me," outlines Dumoulin. "And without a Tour stage? If he still becomes Olympic champion, he will take that any time a day."