Mathieu van der Poel shares his perspective on the opening stage of the Tour de France after scouting final 50 kilometers

It's no secret that Van der Poel and Philipsen are excellent buddies. They teamed up this spring in races like Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Roubaix and seem to be forming a dangerous duo for the Tour de France: Van der Poel as the playmaker and locomotive, Philipsen as the finisher who can secretly do more than just finishing.

The chemistry between the two was also evident on the podium. Van der Poel is ready to give his all for his sprinter. "I will be the last man in the lead-out. Maybe not every day, but if I'm still there, I'll be there for him. We know what to do in the sprints, so there is a lot of confidence."

Besides the Dutchman, Philipsen also has other options. "Silvan Dillier can control the breakaway, but we still need to determine the specific sprint train. On some days, Mathieu will help, in other stages maybe not. Jonas Rickaert and Ramon Sinkeldam also have experience and Soren Kragh Andersen has a lot of power."\

Philipsen has said it multiple times; for now, he puts the points classification in second place. "Green is not a big goal from the beginning. We'll see how the Tour unfolds and if we can collect some points, but a stage victory is most important to me. That way, you also earn points," says the Belgian, who wants to wait and see Wout van Aert's precise ambitions. "If Wout doesn't go all-in, then the chances are bigger for the rest. We saw last year how difficult it is to beat him. If he really doesn't go for it, others will."

For Van der Poel, the key is to be alert in the hilly stages, starting on Saturday and Sunday. "It will be difficult to achieve the same results as I did two years ago," he alludes to his yellow jersey coup in 2021. "It will be on the limit and depend on the race situation, but we will definitely try. However, following the climbers and punchers will be a tough job."

On Thursday, he had the opportunity to scout the final 50 kilometers of the opening stage. "We rode the last fifty kilometers. It's a very tough course, it will be on the limit of what I can do. After the last steep climb, there is some time to come back, but the last five hundred meters are steep again. It's a challenging stage, that's for sure."

Tadej Pogacar will also start in Bilbao on Saturday, but Van der Poel hasn't had much contact with his racing companion recently. "I haven't spoken to him much lately; he has been training a lot. I think he's in good form and can race without pressure, which makes him even more dangerous."

Later in the Tour, there will, of course, be significant climbs, with a stage heading towards Puy de Dome, starting in the region of grandfather Raymond Poulidor. "That will be special; as a young boy, I've been there many times. It's been a long time since I've been there, so it's nice to be back in any case." When asked if he would like to compete for the stage victory in that stage, he replied, "Speaking for myself, I would have liked to see more opportunities for riders like me. However, the big climbs are part of it, in my opinion."

All in all, the Alpecin-Deceuninck boys are ready; that's the impression they give. "I feel completely different than last year. I'm ready for the Tour and the World Championships that follow," says the Dutchman. His Belgian teammate adds, "I have confidence that we can achieve our goals. We have already shown that this year, but the Tour de France is at the highest level. So we have to be at that level too."