Questioned by the Belgian media Sporzathe grandson of Raymond Poulidor gave his feelings without tongue in cheek on the Grande Boucle.
The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, whose main objectives in 2025 will be to win the Tour of Flanders for the fourth time and become world mountain bike champion, “don’t get excited» for the Tour de France, he declared in an interview broadcast on the Belgian site Sporza Sunday.
«It’s a race that doesn’t excite me. Apart from trying to win stages and wear the yellow jersey, there is not much for me to gain in the Tour», Explains the grandson of Raymond Poulidor. “I’d rather do five races where I’m able to win than 20 stages where I’m not competing for victory half the time», argues “MVDP” which will celebrate its 30th anniversary on January 19.
The rider from the Alpecin-Deceuninck team, however, admits taking “pleasure» to help his Belgian teammate, the sprinter Jasper Philipsen, “to win as many stages as possible». «I like it and it takes the pressure off me“, he says.
Present on Paris-Nice?
This season where he will try to become the only record holder for victories at the Tour of Flanders (4), Van der Poel could prefer Paris-Nice (March 9 to 16) to Tirreno-Adriatico (March 4 to 10). “This year’s course creates a new dynamic. This is why Paris-Nice could be an option instead of Tirreno-Adriatico, which I have run a few times», he continues, talking about his preparation for the Flandrian classics.
«Beating Tadej Pogacar in the Ronde promises to be difficult. But I’m happy to try to meet this challenge by thinking about how to close the gap» which, according to him, separates him from the Slovenian winner of the Flemish monument in 2023. But if he had to choose a single objective in 2025, the one who has already been world champion on the road, in cyclo-cross (six times) and in gravel, “would opt for the mountain bike world title» which is still missing from his list.
Senegal
