Mathieu van der Poel was conspicuously absent from the stage 13 breakaway. What happened?

Stage 13 of the Tour de France was a day for the breakaway riders. But one key name was missing from a leading group that comprised nearly one-third of the entire peloton. Mathieu van der Poel failed to make it into a group of 57 riders, which formed in two separate waves. This was surprising, given the Dutchman’s comments at the start.

Van der Poel had, of course, already secured a stage victory in Stage 9, but he was bullish on Dutch broadcaster NOS before stage 13. “If everything goes well, there’s a chance,” he said hopefully, referring to a stage that was virtually flat for the first 150 kilometers and featured a third- and first-category climb in the final stretch.

"You don't necessarily have to be the first to reach the top of that final climb to win the stage," he said, analyzing the Ballon d'Alsace climb, which, at just over 9 kilometers with an average gradient of nearly 7 percent, was the toughest on paper. “It won’t be easy; it’s not my forte.”

An average gradient of 7 percent should, on paper, be a bit of a stretch for Van der Poel, but his father, Adrie van der Poel, already dismissed that notion after the victory in Stage 9. Van der Poel had made a particularly strong impression on the climbs that day, though not necessarily on his father. “Mathieu is capable of much more than people think when it comes to climbing. But he often just doesn’t feel like it,” his father said, surprisingly.

"These weren't real mountains, but he can handle climbs with a 6 or 7 percent gradient—it's just a matter of pedaling at the right wattage. But today he knew: if I'm up front here with the right guys, then I really have a chance," Van der Poel Sr. said. When confronted with those comments, Mathieu agreed on Friday: “I do agree with him; I’ve got a good climb in my legs.”

"It’s often pointless to ride like that, but today is actually a stage where it might work. The plan is to stay with the pack, and I’m going to give it a shot. I’m feeling pretty good, so let’s go for it," he said, sounding genuinely motivated. And so we got ready for it, especially when a huge group broke away early in the stage.

After about an hour of racing, a group of about 35 riders broke away; later, at the behest of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), another 20 or so joined them. A group of 57 was given free rein, including a host of sprinters vying for the green jersey and riders at the bottom of the general classification. But Van der Poel? He wasn’t mentioned even once in the race report.

Even before the start, Van der Poel predicted that it would be difficult to stay with the pack. “It’s hard to get into the right breakaway in a long, easy stage like today’s, because it’s easy to just ride in someone’s slipstream. In the stage I won, it came down to the legs early on; that’s harder now. But I do think Pogacar will let the breakaway group ride.”

That turned out to be the case, with UAE Emirates-XRG sending two riders into the breakaway and thus avoiding a day of control. Alpecin-Premier Tech saw Van der Poel fail in his attempt, but it did have sprinter Jasper Philipsen and domestiques Edward Planckaert and Emiel Verstrynge in the breakaway. They ensured that Philipsen won the intermediate sprint, meaning the team didn’t leave the stage empty-handed.

Van der Poel eventually crossed the finish line behind the peloton, which he had to let go on the final climb.