Mathieu van der Poel is perhaps the greatest classics rider
of his generation, and maybe the very best all-round rider we’ve ever seen.
But, over the past few editions of the Tour de France, van der Poel has become more
of a domestique for his team, who’s priority has been winning the sprint stage
with
Jasper Philipsen. Whilst van der Poel has been heavily involved in most of
Philipsen’s nine Tour de France stage wins, most fans are desperate to see the
Dutchman rip up the Tour the same way he does the spring classics. After all, a
man as talented as Matheiu van der Poel should have more Tour de France stage wins
than just the one, which he won back in 2021.
Speaking to
De Telegraaf, Philipsen shared his thoughts on
his partnership with van der Poel, "On a personal level, we got along right away
and in the race we also noticed that we understood each other quite quickly. I
felt at ease within the team right away and we have fun together, which is also
very important to me.
“I never call Mathieu lead-out, I find that disrespectful in
his case,” says Philpsen, who clearly recognises van der Poel’s talent goes far
beyond the role of a lead out man at
Alpecin-Deceuninck. “He likes to do it and is probably the best
in the peloton, but he is so much more than that. In most races that Mathieu
rides, he is our leader. The great thing about him is that when he sees little
or no chance of winning, he likes to do something for the team.”
“Mathieu makes it easier for me to win, yes, but you have to
be a good sprinter to be able to finish his preparatory work. In addition, it
gives quite a lot of pressure when a great champion like him sacrifices his own
chances for me,” Philipsen continued.
With the
route for next year’s Tour now announced, Philipsen
has his eyes set on claiming the yellow jersey on the flat stage one. But he’s
also got his eye out for his teammate van der Poel, who could target some of
the hill stages in the first week.
“There are opportunities for both of us, although I don't
know if Mathieu will be there,” Philipsen said. “I would like to ride, but my
program is not yet known. If we both compete, I am certainly prepared to
support him in any way.”
yeah, put me on the list of fans that would love to see mathieu SERIOUSLY target tdf stage wins for himself. i’d HATE to see his legacy diminished by lack of stages in the Tour, but the truth is that for many fans and pundits, tour wins matter more than almost anything except maybe roubaix. wout’s 9 tdf wins, over varying parcours, are the reason why, in spite of everything else van der poel has done, many STILL rate van aert above mvdp. this seems insane to me, but the tour is all some pay any attention to. his palmares and place in history would be cemented with another 8 — 10 stage victories.
I’m pretty sure he will end up winning more even if it never becomes a priority for him and why should it?
Do you really think he rides for (or should) to cement a legacy in other people’s eyes, people who by your own admission are kind of only halfhearted fans anyway?
He rides because he likes his job, he has the problem of being so talented that he’s capable of winning too many things and needs to be picky sometimes.
He’s not done many TdFs yet and so far only as a side activity as it interfered with higher priorities, that won’t be the case every year