The day after the Tour de France sees the start of an interesting week, packed with exhibition races over a few countries with the stars of the Tour. In Aalst, the criterium saw Mathieu van der Poel take the win, and he's talked about rising form ahead of the World Championships.
“It wasn't too bad actually. The upward trend of the last week of the Tour continues a bit, so I had recovered quite well," van der Poel told VTM News. "On Wednesday I will ride another criterium in the Netherlands. Then it's time to see how I recover and how I feel. Based on that, we make a schedule.”
The Dutchman showed himself as a prime leadout man, helping Jasper Philipsen to several stage wins throughout the three weeks alongside the triumph in the points classification. He had few stages where he could make a difference, ultimately the hilly days in the second week saw him trying but he came up short of success. His focus, besides helping the Belgian, turned into the World Championships, which he feels like he's recovering well towards.
“In any case, I didn't party," he says of the night the Tour ended in Paris. "I went to bed quite early and had an okay night. I am well rested. The World Championships is a big goal of mine this year. Now is not the time to celebrate, it is important to keep the focus for a while."
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