Mathieu van der Poel improving sensations: "I didn't really expect this, so I'm satisfied with today"

Mathieu van der Poel's Tour de France is not going well. He is yet to finish in the top ten after securing fifth on stage 1. He finished 77th in the seventh stage, 8 minutes and 22 seconds behind stage winner Tadej Pogacar.

His Tour began well, with a fifth-place finish in stage one, but it gradually declined, and he even considered leaving at one point. "I didn't really expect this, so I'm satisfied with today," said Van der Poel to NOS. He continues, "The feeling was also a lot better today, I had less trouble with the pace. Why was I at the front? Because at the back, it often went on a loop. The way it is now, I haven't experienced that yet. But hopefully, I can keep this trend going."

"I had to get to the finish alone. It's a climb that I do know, I've done it more often. The plan today was to keep going until the end. In the end, it went a lot better than the last few days. If I can continue this trend, hopefully, I'll be off," concluded van der Poel. He currently holds 73rd position in GC, 22 minutes, and 9 seconds behind overall leader Tadej Pogacar.