"This performance should give Mathieu confidence" - van der Poel on the right path according to Alpecin DS

Tirreno-Adriatico is serving as preparation for Mathieu van der Poel ahead of the classics, and the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has been chasing a stage win on the hilly days. It hasn't come, but nevertheless the team is happy with his performances and believe he is on track to his best form when it matters the most.

"We had a chance to win three days in a row and it didn't work out. Never underestimate a win," Christoph Roodhoft told Het Laatste Nieuws. "The final was quite difficult and Mathieu didn't have the best feeling on the bike either, which is not abnormal after those two long and difficult rides on Wednesday and Thursday in the cold. Such circumstances have an impact on him".

On stage 3 he responded to attacks in the finale from the likes of Richard Carapaz and Filippo Ganna, but was then blocked in the sprint. On stage 4 he sprinted but was beaten by Olav Kooij and finished third on the day; and yesterday he won the sprint in the peloton but it was behind the breakaway survivor Fredrik Dversnes who benefited from a conservative climb from the peloton.

With only a mountain and a flat bunch sprint stages remaining, it thus becomes very unlikely that the former World Champion will emerge from this race with a victory, but that is not the ultimate indicator ahead of Milano-Snremo. “I don’t want to compare a stage in a stage race with a monument," Roodhoft argues. 

"That’s something completely different, but this performance should give Mathieu confidence for the coming weeks. Now we have to make sure he doesn’t get sick, but in that respect we are better off here than in Paris-Nice or in Spain. Jasper Philipsen and our other riders in Denia were unable to train outside because of the rain," he shares.