Van der Poel marvels at Pogacar's Tour mastery and believes in Evenepoel's 'exceptional' skills

Mathieu van der Poel is feeling good, though the cycling world sees little of it in the Tour de France. The world champion claims to be riding with excellent legs, but on Monday evening on Sporza, he explained that normally, those legs are reserved for the Olympics and the World Championships. There's not much to gain in the Tour...

Van der Poel did join a few breakaways and notably piloted Jasper Philipsen to a stage win with a fantastic lead-out. However, he hasn't had a chance to ride for his own victory due to the relentless pace set day after day by the GC contenders. "I can't change much myself. I had already said before that there are few opportunities for riders like me. That makes it difficult. Too few opportunities? Everyone has their opinion, but it's unfortunate. If things continue this way, it doesn't make much sense for riders like me to come to a Grand Tour. It's a shame. On days like Sunday, you can't do much more than finish within the time limit."

Thus, the rainbow jersey is effectively going through a disguised training camp, gearing up to shine after the Tour. In that sense, Van der Poel feels he's on track. "I'm fortunate that I'm not suffering too much personally, but the pace is so high, it never lets up, and the stages are extremely tough. Mentally, sometimes it's more about suffering than physically," he says about the anonymous days in the peloton (or behind it). Regarding his path towards the Olympics and the World Championships: "I've opted for a similar build-up. I feel better now than I did at this point last year in 2023. I was a bit under the weather then. I feel pretty okay now, but it's certainly no guarantee of the same form."

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Van der Poel looks in awe at Pogacar

In the Tour, besides hard racing, there's also enjoyment, Van der Poel confirms. He already experienced Tadej Pogacar's phenomenal abilities in races like the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race, but in the Tour de France, he sees the top riders performing at a whole different level. "I watch with admiration. It's hard for me to comprehend how someone can ride uphill so fast on a bike. They are a different breed, but it seems like they ride harder and recover better every day. It's incredible. I know what I had to do on Sunday just to finish more than forty minutes behind. We haven't exactly been idle."

"Yes, I think Pogacar is the strongest rider I've ever raced against," he says. Seeing the Slovenian at work is almost comforting, he jokes. "I've seen him have his day in the Tour of Flanders as well. Now that I see this, I feel a bit better about it." Training partner Remco Evenepoel is also excelling in his first Tour de France and is heading towards third place on the podium in Nice. It's an 'exceptional' performance, according to Van der Poel. "Can Remco close the gap on Pogacar and Vingegaard? It will be very difficult, but I believe in him. What he's doing now is extremely impressive. And he has his time trial as a weapon. I think it's possible."