Tom Dumoulin praises Wout Poels for Tour de France win: "For years he has done for Chris Froome what Sepp Kuss is now doing for Jonas Vingegaard"
Cycling
Tom Dumoulin, now an analyst for NOS, has congratulated compatriot Wout Poels on his maiden Tour de France win, in a Sunday that proved very difficult but a perfect terrain for the climbers.
"He was so often in a domestique role for a slightly better leader. For years he has done for Chris Froome what Sepp Kuss is now doing for Jonas Vingegaard. He was sometimes very close, but now at the age of 35 he still wins the best stage of his career," Dumoulin said, happy for Poels who pierced through the fatigue-burned peloton to show his best legs, showing how despite all these years he continues to have great sense of preparation and recovery capabilities.
Poels has not been attached to many GC responsibilities as Bahrain did not see Mikel Landa in his best level, whilst Pello Bilbao has not needed the assistance much throughout the mountain stages as the team does not have responsibilities to work. The Dutchman may change his approach now, but with his main goal achieved.
Dumoulin was also a critic of the very short broadcast given to the Dutchman as he crossed the line atop the final climb, a natural reaction taking into consideration how the race organizers were putting their focus on the battle between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
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- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🏆 Impressive 🇳🇱 @WoutPoels wins in Saint-Gervais! 🏆 Impressionnant, 🇳🇱 @WoutPoels s’impose à Saint-Gervais ! #TDF2023
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