“The team has given me so many great victories" - Mathieu van der Poel repays Alpecin-Deceuninck by helping Jasper Philipsen secure Tour de France Yellow Jersey

He might not have won the stage and secured the Maillot Jaune himself on stage 1 of the 2025 Tour de France, but Mathieu van der Poel was as happy as anyone after crossing the line, having helped Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen not only win the stage, but also take control of the Maillot Jaune.

"It was stressful all day, but it never really went wrong," said the Dutchman in his post-stage interview afterwards, clearly delighted at having helped his teammate to arguably the biggest result of his career. "With 30 kilometres to go, Visma made a move, and we had several riders from the team with them. We knew this was a unique opportunity. When things slowed down, I tried to maintain the pace as best I could, and with a smaller group, it's ultimately easier to execute the lead-out perfectly." And alongside Kaden Groves, Van der Poel did just that, to put Philipsen in the perfect position to open his sprint for the line.

The task was made somewhat easier for Philipsen however, as the likes of Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan were missing from the lead group. “It was clear pretty quickly in our earpieces who was with us and who wasn't. That's the advantage of the Tour, where that information is always passed on quickly over the radio," Van der Poel says of the decisive split. "I said this morning that it can never be perfect in a first stage like this, but circumstances made it work.”

“The team has given me so many great victories, so it's fantastic now to take the stage and the yellow jersey with Jasper," he concludes with a beaming smile. "That's a big victory for the whole team and very important. We know our qualities as a team, and we go all out for them; that's kind of how it is.”