What are Mathieu van der Poel's chances on the Mur-de-Bretagne? "Even on a good day, it's difficult when Pogacar and Vingegaard really want to go for the stage"

Mathieu van der Poel had a very tough stage 6 at the Tour de France and that has come at the end of a string of stages where he's been a headliner at all times. Fatigue is certainly becoming a factor for the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, now leader of the race once again, and there are question on whether he will be able to maintain the yellow jersey on the Mur-de-Bretagne.

"I got up fresher, I have to say. It was a tough day. Most riders suffered. I was starting to run out of steam at the end," van der Poel admitted to Sporza this morning. It's safe to say the Dutchman went to the absolute limit this Thursday, sprinting for the green jersey points at the start of the day; riding himself into the breakaway and riding full gas all day; and then riding for every single second to manage getting back into the yellow jersey - in which he succeeded by a single second.

At the end of the day 45Km/h average speed on a stage with over 3000 meters of climbing with heat present took him to the limit. In a fresh day, today he could match 2021's performance where he won on this climb. But within context, it'll be a hard finale. "But even on a good day, it's difficult when Pogacar and Vingegaard really want to go for the stage."

With Tadej Pogacar perhaps trying to avoid the race lead and the chances for a breakaway to succeed to be quite decent, Alpecin could potentially let a strong group go up the road so as to steal bonifications and improve his chances of keeping the lead at the end of the day. On the other hand, the hilltop finish provides full points for the green jersey competition in which he could take full advantage of: "But we'll only do it (chase the breakaway, ed.) if the leading group isn't too strong. You never know, but this isn't a one-day race."

But keeping the lead for van der Poel is a pleasure and it's an absolute goal for the end of today's stage. "I did tell the team to check it anyway. It's also great to be leading with the yellow jersey on the final day."