Foreign press raves about 'imperial' van der Poel: "Mastery and confidence make him unbeatable"

Van der Poel's history in the Tour is an eventful one. “First and foremost, Van der Poel was dragged into the Tour de France against his will by a family history he wanted to distance himself from,” claims L'Équipe. "When the yellow jersey brought tears to his eyes in Brittany four years ago, they simply reflected the sadness of a grandson who had just lost his grandfather, less a sporting emotion than a grief he would have preferred to express in private rather than in front of everyone, even though he so rarely dares to talk about it."

"And yet here he is again in the Tour de France, caught up in the unavoidable force of the biggest cycling event, and all he had to do was commit himself to becoming the star of a single weekend." His second victory is, therefore, all the sweeter given his history. “On Sunday, after his victory and the yellow jersey that came with it, which his teammate Philipsen had handed him after a tough deciding moment, the Dutchman let out pure joy that told no other story but his own."

Compared to his victory on the Mûr-de-Bretagne, this is a different Van der Poel. "In four years, he has developed a mastery and self-confidence that makes him unbeatable on the days he has marked on the calendar.” He could have attacked on the steepest sections, as many people expected. “But he preferred to take the risk of letting people come back and wait until the last 400 meters of this final hill, so confident, prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who still dared to challenge him."

It showed a maturity, which was also visible in the number 2 of the day: Tadej Pogacar, who kept his cool in all the violence. "Pogacar, who rode defensively in a stage he could have won easily, did not leave empty-handed, as he took the polka dot jersey in the mountains classification and gained two bonus seconds on Vingegaard at the finish."

It was an excellent move by the world champion not to burn his reserves already, according to the French newspaper. "Because overconfidence is one of the pitfalls on the road to a fourth victory. Vingegaard's Visma continued to tease their rival, but with less conviction than on Saturday and without Wout Van Aert, who was completely out of the picture." Vingegaard was more active than his rival. "The Dane ignited fireworks 5 km from the finish but refused to take the lead. The best indicator that his legs are in good shape is his third place in the sprint."

Nevertheless, Visma | Lease a Bike's racing tactics were the subject of discussion. The Killer Bees put the pressure on themselves with Matteo Jorgenson, among others, but then refused to cooperate when a small group broke away. "We understood Kévin Vauquelins’ complaining when he noticed that Jorgenson was not cooperating in a counterattack he had initiated, even though the American himself had attacked a little earlier."

La Gazzetta dello Sport also has nothing but praise for the new yellow jersey wearer. The Italian newspaper gives the Dutchman a 9 out of 10. "Spectacular, imperial, unbeatable. After a long sprint on the climb to Boulogne-sur-Mer, he was too strong for Pogacar and Vingegaard, a second success in the Tour four years after the first, which also earned him the yellow jersey. In 2021, he held on for a week, but it will be tough here with Tadej and Jonas hungry for victory, but the son of Adrie and nephew of Poulidor will not give up easily."