Van Poppel and Meeus the best duo, but also for the Tour de France? “Depends on what they have in mind for Roglic”

There weren’t many opportunities in the hill- and mountain-filled Tour of Switzerland. “It’s definitely been a tough week for me so far. With all those climbs, it was far from my favorite terrain,” Meeus puffed. “After stage two I was really disappointed, because on paper that was also a chance. But my legs just weren’t good at the start of the week.”

“But as the race went on, they kept getting better. Today I could feel from the start that I had good legs, and I managed to finish it off,” said the 2023 Champs-Élysées stage winner. “It’s hard to compare, but this is only my second win at WorldTour level, so I’m super happy with the victory.”

Of course, Danny van Poppel was once again crucial. “The sprint was pretty technical with the roundabout,” Meeus said. “But Danny and Roger (Adrià, ed.) managed to put me in the perfect position. And then Danny delivered a textbook lead-out.” The Belgian was full of praise for his Dutch lead-out man.  

Speaking to this site, Meeus explained why he, as a sprinter, even lined up at such a tough preparation race. “The goal is still to ride the Tour de France. In recent years, I’ve always done the Tour of Switzerland, and it turns out to be a good combination.”

“I’m not the most pure sprinter, I rely on having something left in the tank at the end and being well-positioned,” the Belgian explained. “With this course, I can gain some extra toughness and form.” “I haven’t raced much since Paris-Roubaix, only Rund um Köln. Then we had a solid altitude training camp.”

Meeus hasn’t raced much anyway this year, he even skipped Scheldeprijs and Classic Brugge-De Panne and hasn't even reached 20 race days. “The idea was to peak more selectively. In the spring, that didn’t quite work out, the form was there, but the results weren’t. That’s not always in your control, but it was still a disappointment.”  

So what are the odds we’ll see him racing in France this July? “I don’t know exactly, but I’d estimate it at 50/50. In the end, it’s up to the team. It’ll depend on how they see things with riders like Primoz Roglic. All I can do is be in the best shape possible,” says the ever-pragmatic rider from Limburg.

There may already be a gift waiting for the winner in Lille. “It’s not often there’s a chance to take the yellow jersey on day one, so that definitely adds some extra motivation,” says Meeus, who as a former Champs-Élysées winner has noticed a change.

“Personally, they didn’t need to change it. It adds stress for little reward, and I’m not really sure why they did it, maybe to give riders like Mathieu van der Poel a chance. But it also adds more stress to the GC contenders.”