"This was the best I could do" - Mathieu van der Poel settles for podium on explosive Tirreno-Adriatico finale

Mathieu van der Poel raced under the radar for much of TIrreno-Adriatico's stage 4, but when it mattered he showed his power. However, the former World Champion wasn't able to make the difference, and in a sprint had to settle for third place as Olav Kooij raced to take the win.

“It was really cold. I have not often experienced such conditions two days in a row in a race. However, we had handled it well with the team and I was able to put on dry clothes twice along the way," van der Poel said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.

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Van der Poel is a rider that is used to racing under such conditions, but it proved to be very fatiguing for him. However when the final lap of the circuit came, he was the one to launch the most explosive attack in that short uphill ramp, but Filippo Ganna made an all-out effort to close the Dutchman down.

He explains that this wasn't actually his plan: "That was really the case. I really did not have the legs to try anything today. Because I had little on my legs, I wanted to aim for the sprint, but when Ben Healy attacked, I tried to react in the hope of riding away with a small group."

However right after the climb Healy did attack and make the difference, and van der Poel return to his original plan of betting on the spring. Only he had been joined by an unexpected compatriot. "It was a hectic stage and also bad radio connection, so I didn't know that Kooij had rejoined. When I saw him and those other fast men, I realized that it wouldn't be a victory."

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The Dutchman still launched a strong sprint that came close to handing him his first win of the week, but he had to settle for third behind the Visma man and Rick Pluimers. "This was the best I could do. On Wednesday I was frustrated, because I felt really good then, but I was held up in the sprint," he explained.

However, he acknowledges that days like this are good for his ultimate goal of performing in the upcoming monuments: "We are here to train and grow. Such heavy efforts two days in a row is exactly what I need for the classics, now I just have to make sure I don't get sick,"

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