"When Van Aert went, I thought: now I have to come along, this is the ticket to the final climb" - Wout Poels finally a Grand Tour stage winner at age 35
Cycling
As many years of service in the Grand Tours, 38-year-old Wout Poels finally has a victory of his own in one of cycling's biggest races after soloing to a stunning stage 15 victory at the 2023 Tour de France.
"I've always dreamed of this. And also after all that has happened in the past four weeks," says the Dutchman in his post-stage interview, referencing the tragic passing of his Bahrain - Victorious teammate, Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse. “I felt very good yesterday and today too. I rode smart in the leading group. I have not responded to everything. When Van Aert went, I thought: now I have to come along, this is the ticket to the final climb.”
And so it proved, after riding alongside Wout van Aert to get to the climb, Poels attacked the Belgian and dropped him on his way to a summit finish victory. “I thought: I have to ride him off on the steep parts, otherwise I can't get him off. It's nice to ride a rider like that. I'm getting a year older. You always dream of the Tour. I won a Monument and now a Tour stage, it couldn't be better.”
Click
here to create your own team for the Fantasy Tour de France Stage 16. At
least $2,800/€2,500/£2,145 in prizes!!
“As a young rider you dream of the Tour. When we were little, we went away with the camper and happened to come to the Tour with my mom and dad," he concludes. "Now you are participating yourself, for the tenth time already. And then you eventually win a stage. You always dream of that.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- A great champion but a better human. jus' sayin'
Davide15-11-2026 - Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
Loading
🇫🇷 #TDF2023 🏆 This brilliant solo victory is the first Grand Tour victory for @WoutPoels! @LeTour #RideAsOne #rideforGino 📸 @SprintCycling
1 Comments