"This sprint suits Kaden very well" — Mathieu van der Poel drops green jersey chase to back Groves

Mathieu van der Poel has once again made it clear: he won’t be chasing the green jersey at this year’s Tour de France. Hours before the start of stage 8, the Dutchman confirmed his focus is on helping Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Kaden Groves instead.

“This sprint suits Kaden very well, and he's feeling good,” Van der Poel told Sporza. “It would be great if, after Jasper's retirement, we could also win a stage with Kaden.”

Van der Poel will act as the final lead out man, placing full confidence in Groves for a stage win. “As I said beforehand: that wasn't the goal,” he said of the points classification. “Otherwise you really have to work on that from the start and it will be difficult to beat Tadej Pogacar anyway, I think. We are really focusing on stage wins like with Kaden today.”

Groves, now stepping up as the team’s designated sprinter, acknowledged the challenge ahead. “Is this the perfect finish for me? It's pretty close,” he said. “This has to suit me, and hopefully my legs have recovered.”

The Australian is still adapting to his new role after Jasper Philipsen’s early crash forced a shift in the team’s strategy. “It was difficult when Jasper crashed on Monday, but we've had time to process that now,” Groves said. “We miss him, but I'm happy to take this step and I've already led the team in other Grand Tours.”

Groves added that the opening week’s chaotic racing has taken a toll on the peloton. “I feel good, but we've already had a difficult and chaotic first week. The whole peloton is feeling the fatigue.”