According to
Alpecin-Deceuninck boss Christoph Roodhooft,
Mathieu van der Poel will again use the
Tour de France as preparation for bigger goals to come. In 2023 this worked well as the Dutchman took the Rainbow Jersey, could a similar route in 2024 end with the 29-year-old wearing Olympic gold?
Last year, van der Poel was used primarily by Alpecin-Deceuninck as a superstar leadout for Jasper Philipsen at the Tour de France, successfully too as the Belgian sprinter took four stages and the Green Jersey home from the race. Whilst there are a few occasions where van der Poel will get the opportunity to impress this time, Roodhooft insists the Tour will mostly be for preparation once again.
"It is a race with goals, that's for sure. But they are not present en masse in this Tour. We see one or two stages in which Mathieu can pursue personal goals, the rest of the Tour is mainly focused on the Olympic Games," the Alpecin-Deceuninck boss says in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "You should never call the Tour a preparation race, but for riders of his calibre, there are stages that you can consider purely as preparation. In modern cycling, every team knows for each rider what and on which day he has to perform during a Grand Tour. It has all become very clearly defined and that also applies to him."
In truth, van der Poel has had a relatively quiet season all told. Just seven race days for the world champion in 2024, although it must be noted he has more than made the most of these limited outings, winning two monuments and helping teammate Jasper Philipsen to his own monument win. "The way things have gone now, it can be perfectly justified. Whether it is a scenario that can be justified permanently is another matter. I do think that people should not just look at those seven matches." says Roodhooft.
"You have to consider a period of a full year, including the crosses he has ridden. Add everything together and Mathieu will also have seventy days of competition, like the majority of professionals these days. We can now say that Mathieu was extremely present at the moments that he raced. But we didn't know that in advance, we definitely took a risk," he concludes. "He may race less, but the mental burden is much higher. Moreover, everything is magnified, there is no longer room to let things hang. Everything has to be right. There are no more optional things in this society. When drawing up a programme, it is mainly about looking for balance."
