Rick Pluimers finds Tour de France form before Stage 9: ‘That’s a good sign’
CyclingSaturday, 11 July 2026 at 18:31
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Follow us on GoogleRick Pluimers appears to have found his legs at just the right moment in the Tour de France. The 25-year-old Tudor debutant had passed through the opening week largely under the radar, even after sprint leader Arvid de Kleijn left the race. On
Stage 8, however, he surged to sixth place against the world’s best sprinters, a result that immediately left him wanting more, he told IDL Pro Cycling.
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The closing kilometres of the Tour’s eighth stage had a distinctly Dutch flavour. Mathieu van der Poel drove the pace at the front as the lead-out rider for Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin-Premier Tech. When the leading group began to break apart, Pluimers’ black Tudor jersey suddenly appeared near the front. He expertly latched onto the right wheels and eventually sprinted to sixth place against the elite of the sprinting world.
“I’m really happy with this,” Pluimers said enthusiastically to Han Kock of NOS immediately after the finish. “I said it yesterday: hopefully I can get through the ‘washing machine’ in a good position. That worked today. A finale with more corners suits me much better than four kilometres on a straight road. It was hectic and dangerous, as always, but I managed to hold my position well.”
Following the Alpecin-Premier Tech train had put Pluimers in an excellent position. Olav Kooij of Decathlon CMA CGM and Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step were also there, however, with Merlier ultimately taking the victory. “With a corner in the final kilometre, you know that not many riders will still be able to come past from behind. The main thing was therefore to stay with Olav and then… well, sixth place is a great result.”
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Pluimers finds his legs ahead of the stages that truly suit him
A few minutes later, as Pluimers rode alone towards the Tudor team bus, IDL Pro Cycling joined him on the move. While continuing to pedal, the Dutchman explained that things had finally clicked on the eighth day. “I’ve been trying to open up my legs for a week, but today they felt really good. In fact, for the first time in several days, they finally felt smooth.”
That was why Pluimers boldly followed the sprinters after the final corner, even as Van der Poel was going full gas with his lead-out. “I could hold Kooij’s wheel well, but for me it is just too difficult to come around him as well. That’s why I’m simply happy with sixth place.”
Pluimers did not come to the Tour de France to sprint for himself, so the result is mainly an encouraging sign for the stages in which he genuinely wants to make an impact. That begins with Sunday’s shortened Stage 9. “Today was a relatively calm day. That was nice on the one hand, but on the other hand it means that a lot of riders will have good legs on Sunday.”
The climb on Stage 8, where EF Education-EasyPost suddenly increased the pace, gave Pluimers another encouraging reference point. “I was certainly not at my limit there, so that was a good sign. In the heat, though, you can suddenly find that limit and go straight beyond it. Huub Artz is right when he says that you have to manage your energy very carefully. There will be attacks for a long time, so we’ll have to divide the work between us.”
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
- Remco continues alternating between Dr. Jekyl and, as he did today post-race, Mr. Hyde, lashing out as others for not racing according to his preferences. This isn't the first time he's complained about opponents' tactics, but it's the first time I've heard him do it to a teammate, and that lack of discretion and team loyalty may come back to haunt him. I though he'd outgrown these childish pouts; obviously, I was mistaken.rjb10-07-2026
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
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