What went wrong with Mathieu van der Poel? "We don't have an answer to that" Alpecin-Deceuninck owners say

Mathieu van der Poel was an early abandon at the Tour de France, not having had the desired form throughout the race. Alpecin-Deceuninck owners Christoph and Philip Roodhoft were questioned about what went wrong for the Dutchman.

"A leader who doesn't march, that weighs on the group. I thought his time trial in Copenhagen was still okay. But after that it didn't go well," Christop Roodhoft told Wielerflits. Adding that there's no clear idea of what went wrong with the Dutchman: "No idea, we don't have an answer to that. But if we could just answer this question, then there would be no problem".

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Perhaps the combination of a long and tiring Giro d'Italia, after a very loaded spring has seen the Dutchman suffer from fatigue. “Riding the Giro d'Italia, we still stand behind that... But we already saw last winter that there was a very good opportunity for a stage win in the first stage, with an automatic pink jersey... He checked this box," the team owners said.

However his efforts to complete the Giro saw him eventually on five breakaways with no success from them, and constantly having an aggressive mindset. "Was the second part of Giro the most sensible? Maybe we can discuss that. But he has conquered the heart of cycling-loving Italy there. Forever. Does that have value or not, Mathieu has left an impression there," they argue.

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The leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck left the Tour de France during stage 11 of the Tour, after failing to perform in the stages he was expected to. Despite the strong initial time-trial, he was never again towards the front of the peloton.

"We are still in the middle of the Tour and have very consciously said that we will only make a plan after that. Until then, there's nothing for him for a while and maybe that's fine sometimes," Philip Roodhoft concluded.