Van der Poel took a gamble on decisive move Van Baarle: "Can't close the gap all the time, they've learned that now"

He started out as the top favorite but had to settle for third place: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was tricked by the Jumbo-Visma boys, with Dylan van Baarle and Olav Kooij leading the way during the Dutch National Championships in cycling.

"A frustrating race," Van der Poel let slip to the gathered press after the event. "As I had predicted, for me, this is one of the toughest races of the season. And once again, that proved to be true," was VDP's initial conclusion.

"I fought with all my might, but at some point, you just can't anymore," Van der Poel continued. He immediately elaborated on that statement. "In the last hundred kilometers, I jumped on everything that moved to keep myself in a favorable position. It worked, but at some point, I had to take a gamble if I wanted to win."

Van der Poel took a gamble when Van Baarle went

"I took a gamble when Dylan went," stated Van der Poel, who ultimately lost the sprint against Kooij for second place. "There were still a few guys who weren't Jumbo-Visma, and I can't close the gap all the time. They've learned that now," he warned the competition.

"I did everything right, but at some point, you have to think about winning," he expressed his choice not to immediately go after escapee Van Baarle. "Dylan is also a very worthy champion, so Jumbo-Visma did well. I can't argue with that."

All in all, Van der Poel has a good feeling heading into the Tour de France, which starts this Saturday in Bilbao, Spain. "I felt good, and I'm doing better and better with the heat as well. I felt reasonably okay, so I'm happy with that."