Two out of two for
Alpecin-Deceuninck! The Belgian team seems unstoppable at the start of this
Tour de France which was underlined by
Mathieu van der Poel's dominant triumph in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Michael Boogerd was really impressed by the Dutchman's performance. Not only was he always at the front in key moments, Van der Poel also had to ride the last 500 meters at the front of the group and still found no competition. "Just do it when there is so much pressure and all the eyes of the world are on you," Boogerd suggested during a NOS broadcast.
And while everyone waited for Van der Poel's next move, the leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck remained composed, completely in control of the situation. He waited for the last turn at 150 meters to go and then just flied away... Not even Tadej Pogacar dared to peak out of his wheel when Van der Poel unleashed his demons.
"That he then dares to wait so much on the final climb... He should actually have started right away when Vauquelin stopped, but at the same time he was not allowed to give it his all. And all that with not exactly the smallest names on his wheel..."
That kick for the line, that's something only Van der Poel has in the whole peloton and it would be a surprise if he wasn't going to win thanks to it again before the first rest day: "He has a weapon that he can use so well. Pogacar seemed to come close in the picture from the front, but he eventually won by a wide margin. That push is simply phenomenal. With it, he puts the rest under enormous pressure. An incredibly beautiful victory with the yellow jersey as a reward."
Mathieu van der Poel now leads the Tour de France with 4 seconds over Tadej Pogacar while Jonas Vingegaard is further two second back.