Philipsen communicates with van der Poel every day about the green jersey: "I'd kick myself if I took it too easy now"

“The green jersey isn't really a goal, but the team said I had to be there,” Van der Poel said after the stage. The Dutchman jumped into the breakaway in the opening phase and finished third in the intermediate sprint. Green ambitions? “I'm not really thinking about it myself. In the sprint stages this coming weekend, we will also be going for Kaden Groves, so it was mainly important to stay in the race for now.”

Even so, he made his move. “The team insisted that I participate. They had seen on Tuesday that few riders were sprinting in the intermediate sprints. It's a pity to leave unclaimed points on the table, and you never know what will happen in the second and third weeks. So it was more about staying among the riders,” the Dutchman explained.

“That decision came more from the team than from me. I do listen sometimes, haha,” Van der Poel laughed later on Thursday evening on Vive le Vélo. “The day before, I only saw two riders sprinting. So, I could finish third without too much difficulty. However, you often encounter illness and bad luck during the Tour de France. I'd kick myself if I took it too easily now.”

“It's quite a switch to do it now because we had a good chance of winning the green jersey, especially with Jasper,” the yellow jersey wearer admitted honestly. The Belgian would rather see MVDP in green than Alpecin-Deceuninck. “Jasper sends me messages every day and calls me to say he'd like to see me in green in Paris. It might be a factor, but I would have preferred him to be there.”

Sprinting cost Van der Poel some effort, causing him to suffer from cramps on Thursday. “But I felt I had drunk enough. We were discussing it with Jasper earlier this week, and I mentioned that I had never experienced cramps during a race. I should have kept my mouth shut,” laughed the Dutchman.

So, the yellow jersey, but Van der Poel remained realistic. "I get on well with Tadej (Pogacar, ed.), and we regularly help each other out. I think there's a good chance he'll be wearing it again tomorrow. When you see how he and Jonas (Vingegaard, ed.) are riding, it's a different level. If they really set their minds to it, it's just difficult for me. I don't recover as well in a Grand Tour. Everyone has their strengths, and mine is the classics. The day after the Tour of Flanders, I can just do an easy ride and feel fine again, haha."