"I stand here with mixed feelings" - Wout Poels starts Tour de France with goal of commemorating Gino Mäder
Cycling
Wout Poels is all set to start his 10th career Tour de France on July 1st. Just a few weeks ago though, his Bahrain - Victorious teammate Gino Mäder's tragically passed away at the Tour de Suisse. An incident that is understandably still in the mind of Poels.
"I'm happy to be here, but the past two weeks have been intense. So I stand here with mixed feelings," the 35-year-old Dutchman told NOS after an emotional team presentation of the Bahrain - Victorious lineup prior to the races start. "It's nice that they did that minute of silence, then everything comes back in and you are confronted with it."
Poels was actually in the middle of a stage at the Tour of Slovenia when news broke that Mäder had sadly died, meaning he found out later than most. "We continued there. Life goes on anyway and so does the course. That's all I can do," he explains. "You have to try to give it a place and it's nice to recall memories with teammates."
“I had a hard time with that the first few times in training, but you have to turn that off in the race," he continues, referencing the riding of descents. "If you start thinking about it, it's better not to start and stay at home."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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