
The Tour de France 2025 is practically just around the corner. The main stars who will star in the Grande Boucle have already begun their final preparations for the three-week long race. Among them of course one of the main adepts to wear yellow in first week - Mathieu van der Poel.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar managed to ride a great Criterium du Dauphiné, not showing any signs of consequences of his recent wrist injury. As a result, the anticipation of seeing the Dutchman in a very ambitious version within the Tour is growing.
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To begin his final training for the Tour de France, Van der Poel has returned to his comfort zone. In Calpe, Alicante, the reigning Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo winner met up with training partner Freddy Ovett.

Mathieu van der Poel had a great Criterium du Dauphiné
Van der Poel's first training session for the Tour de France was 113 kilometers. It was not complicated at all for the Dutchman. It was just a ride to slowly start to get back to his legs after all the accumulated fatigue from the Dauphiné.
The pace, moreover, was quite relaxed, at 32 km/h. Little by little, he will be stepping up his pace, surely with the goal of wearing the yellow jersey during the first week of the Tour de France.
Philipsen's faithful squire
But, of course, Mathieu van der Poel's main goal, besides taking some wins of his own, will be the same as in recent years. Jasper Philipsen dominated the Tour de France in 2023, where he took the points classification, with the Dutchman as the main helper in the sprints.
In 2024, Philipsen's pride was wounded, when Biniam Girmay snatched the throne from him. Regaining it is on the priority list for Alpecin and the Belgian, and everyone will need the best version of Van der Poel to do so.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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