Belgian legend Sven Nys impressed by Mathieu van der Poel: 'Shows he's ready for the Tour de France'

Less than half a second: that was the difference between winner Tadej Pogačar and runner-up Mathieu van der Poel in Saturday's Tour de Suisse time trial. Belgian cyclocross Legend Sven Nys thought it a shame the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider was narrowly beaten, but above all he was full of praise for Van der Poel's ability.

Van der Poel had announced beforehand that he wanted to go all out in a time trial once again, and the Dutchman duly did so with verve. Only Pogačar was faster, and over a 23.7-kilometre time trial that has to be called a pretty impressive performance. Nys senior seemed to reach the same conclusion.

The former Belgian rider was impressed by Van der Poel, and most certainly by his time trial on Saturday. "He has quietly worked very hard, above all on functioning well in that position. Everyone knows Mathieu can ride hard. But if you want to do that in a time trial, you really have to spend hours and hours on it, in that position," Nys analysed on Sporza.

The Belgian saw that this investment was now paying off — though that pesky Pogačar was still there. "In itself it's a shame he loses by a fraction. But he's not losing to just anyone, either. It was a fine spectacle, and it shows once again that Mathieu van der Poel, too, is in form and ready for the Tour," he said.

And that, especially in the discipline of time trialling, is good news, given that the Tour gets under way with a team time trial. Alpecin-Premier Tech may well be able to make their mark there already, although the Belgian team will mainly be looking to the stages that follow. "His team will certainly have the ambition to score early, possibly with someone like Jasper Philipsen, or Mathieu van der Poel himself."

According to Nys, the team will have to wait a little while for the first sprints. "It's not as if we should expect sprints in Barcelona — it can be quite tough there. But Van der Poel, Philipsen and, by extension, the team are ready. I also see a very strong Verstrynge riding around in Switzerland. It's nice to see all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place in this final phase."