Mathieu van der Poel is coming in as the leader of
Alpecin-Fenix to the
Giro d'Italia, where he will be eyeing stage wins throughout the race. The opening day is widely rumoured to be his main goal, with the pink jersey on the line and a finale that's perfectly suited to him.
Van der Poel is one of the main candidates for the opening stage, which will see a hilltop finish in Visegrád. Asked about his ambitions of winning and pulling on the pink jersey - a clear goal for him - he replied: "It will not be easy, There's a lot of competition and it sounds easy, but it's not. The finish is quite difficult, but it will not be obvious to drop the fast men there."
Asked if he's using the Giro d'Italia as preparation for the Tour de France, van der Poel denies that being the case: "No, not really. I have my goals in the Giro and I look forward to that. I have always found this to be one of the best races of the year and it will be a nice experience here," he added.
"Yes, I want to ride the Giro and the Tour completely, although I also have to wait and see how my body reacts. There are question marks and the climbs of the final week are unknown territory," he says. The final week of racing has none other than four high mountain stages, three of which is several very complicated ascents. Stage 12 - or on a good day, stage 14 - is the last stage that suits the Dutchman's skillset. It would be logic that, like several sprinters, van der Poel goes home as the race nears the Alps, however he's willing to reach Verona.
