Van der Poel does not hold back after the Tour: "I don't think I can be very satisfied"

Mathieu van der Poel's Tour de France is over as well. The world champion from Alpecin-Deceuninck couldn't showcase himself as he had hoped in his rainbow jersey, he concluded after three weeks of cycling through France, Italy, San Marino, and Monaco. "I might have hoped for more," he told Sporza in Nice.

Van der Poel, like some other riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck, chose his road bike instead of his time trial bike. "I rarely or never use my time trial bike, so I prefer my road bike. I still felt quite good, although I was a bit apprehensive. But it was a nice time trial. A nice way to finish," said the Dutchman.

So, how does he look back on his Tour now? "I don't think I can be very satisfied, to be honest. I might have hoped for more," was his conclusion. "I wasn't really close to a stage win, and it was a goal to win a stage as the world champion. It would be easy if every goal could be achieved."

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Van der Poel doesn't feel that he 'broke down' in this Tour

Alpecin-Deceuninck can certainly speak of a successful Tour de France as a team. "As a team, we're satisfied with three stage wins for Jasper Philipsen, but for someone like me, the opportunities are scarce. That's not an excuse, as it applies to everyone, but I had hoped to finish closer," Van der Poel said when asked.

In two weeks, his main goal for this summer is coming up, the Olympic road race in Paris. "I need to keep working for the Olympics. I feel good. I don't feel like I broke down in this Tour. I think I just need to stay busy and healthy, and then I'll schedule a few intensive training sessions."

This preparation paid off in Glasgow in 2023. "It will be a bit of a repeat of last year leading up to the World Championships. I'm first going to Belgium and then maybe to Spain for a while," concluded Van der Poel.