“That is not realistic” - Alpecin boss tackles Mathieu van der Poel concerns as quiet Tour de Suisse raises Tour de France question mark

Mathieu van der Poel’s Tour de Suisse has not carried the usual sense of inevitability. After a training block aimed at Tour de France form, his week in Switzerland has been quieter than the standard he has created for himself.

Fifth in the storm-hit finish to Bad Ragaz was his clearest result of the race so far, but it did not remove the wider pre-Tour question. Van der Poel has rarely shaped the race himself, while Tadej Pogacar has dominated the general classification and others have taken the stage-winning headlines.

Christoph Roodhooft does not view that as a reason for alarm. The Alpecin-Premier Tech boss told De Telegraaf that Van der Poel’s record of instant impact has pushed expectations to a level that cannot apply every time he returns from a training camp.

“We are used to Mathieu usually being there straight away, but that is not realistic,” Roodhooft said.

Van der Poel’s back remains part of the conversation around his Tour de France preparation. Roodhooft made clear the issue is not currently stopping him from racing properly, but he also acknowledged that it is not something Alpecin can simply forget about. “That problem will never completely go away,” Roodhooft said. “He always has to keep working on it.”

The recent irritation came during a period when Van der Poel’s programme placed different demands on his body. “In the period when Mathieu started having trouble with it, there was an identifiable reason,” Roodhooft explained. “In the space of a week, he rode three different bikes. We then left the mountain biking aside and focused further on the Tour.”

That switch has shaped the reading of his Suisse. The mountain bike ambitions have not disappeared from Van der Poel’s season, but the immediate priority is the Tour de France, where Alpecin - Premier Tech must balance his own stage chances with Jasper Philipsen’s sprint ambitions.

Alpecin have also worked specifically on the team time trial, with the Tour de France opener offering an early chance to chase both a stage win and yellow. Roodhooft is not pretending that the discipline naturally suits his team better than their rivals, but he sees value in the preparation.

“And yes, the first stage win and a yellow jersey are there to be taken, but we do not excel in that discipline compared with many other teams,” Roodhooft said. “I am happy, though, that we have started working on it, because then a team time trial has a completely different dynamic. If we limit the damage, Mathieu may still have a chance to take the leader’s jersey in the days that follow.”

Asked directly whether there were concerns around Van der Poel, Roodhooft’s answer remained short: “No, not for the time being.”

For Van der Poel, the quiet Suisse build-up now sits against a bigger Tour de France target: manage the back, sharpen the road legs, support Philipsen where needed, and keep a possible route towards yellow alive.