Thomas Dekker: "This will be a difficult Tour for Van der Poel"

Mathieu van der Poel doesn't have a Tour de France with a start as hilly as in 2021 where he took the yellow jersey on the second day, or as in the Giro d'Italia this season where he rode into the lead of the race in the opening day, and Thomas Dekker argues that the Dutch superstar.

"I feel like this will be a difficult Tour for Van der Poel. Wout van Aert is currently faster and is also a better time trialist. Van Aert is also very good at the rides that remain," Dekker said on the 'Evening Stage'. Then there will be racing, but in the Tour that is not done as often as in the Giro d'Italia. We often saw him riding in front of the pack there. Van der Poel is only not the best uphill and there are also few rolling stages. Wednesday's cobblestone stage is a great opportunity for him, but also that day… There are few opportunities," he said. 

With a fifth place in the opening time-trial van der Poel has gotten himself in a position to strike for the yellow jersey. Although the second and third weeks lack a hilly stage where he would be a favourite - such as the last week of the Giro d'Italia - the opening week sees some opportunities.

“Of course he will race on Wednesday, because then those cobblestones will be there. If he wins on Wednesday, then his Tour is successful and it doesn't matter anymore," Dekker said. Stages six and eight to Longwy and Lausanne will however be two more opportunities, with punchy finales that are ideal for a rider like him - where he may also go for yellow.

Today the general classification will change and may see very meaningful events occur. “...It's going to be a race within a race. We saw that when Lars Boom won that stage. There are many interests," he pointed out.

“Van der Poel has to hope that there will be a few more stages where twenty riders will start and that he will be there. But really getting away from the favorites and the strongest riders at the supreme moment is very difficult. He colored the entire race in the Giro and then he only won one stage. You just don't win a competition that easily, especially when the specialism is getting so big," he concluded.