"This really hurts a lot," says Van der Poel, as team reacts to withdrawal

The Tour had started so promisingly for Van der Poel. In stage 2, he won in Boulogne-sur-Mer, taking over the yellow jersey. He wore it during stages 3, 4, and 5, before briefly losing it to Tadej Pogacar on stage 6.

Not for long, though, as Van der Poel got into the early break that same day, reclaiming the leader’s jersey from the Slovenian with just a one-second margin. However, on stage 7 to Mûr-de-Bretagne, Pogacar struck back, reclaiming yellow at the expense of Van der Poel.

Despite dealing with a sore throat and even an insect sting at the summit of Hautacam, the Dutchman continued to push on. But during Monday’s second rest day, things worsened. “Mathieu had been suffering from a cold in recent days. On Monday afternoon, his condition deteriorated significantly. Our team doctor closely monitored him all day. By the evening, Mathieu developed a fever and was taken to the Centre Hospitalier de Narbonne for further tests,” the team reported on Tuesday morning.

Medical examinations revealed pneumonia, forcing Alpecin-Deceuninck to withdraw him from the race. “In consultation with the medical staff, we decided he can no longer continue. His health is the top priority now, and rest and recovery are essential,” the team stated.

Later on Tuesday morning, Van der Poel responded to his withdrawal through his Instagram story. With the announcement of his abandon, he wrote: “This really hurts.” He also shared a screenshot of his Whoop recovery score, a metric that indicates how well the body has recovered to perform again. The visible 1% score says everything about Van der Poel’s condition, accompanied by skull emojis.

Speaking to Sporza, team boss Philip Roodhooft provided more context. “Mathieu still did the coffee ride, but then he got sicker. It became worse, and it was clear something more serious was going on. Mathieu also had a fever.”

Together with team boss Christoph Roodhooft and the team doctor, Van der Poel went to the hospital, where pneumonia was confirmed. “Then there’s only one option, of course. It’s obviously disappointing for us, but many riders are sick right now,” Roodhooft explained.

“We don’t need to overdramatize this,” Philip Roodhooft continued. “We’re not in a position to complain as if all the misfortune has fallen on us. I haven’t seen Mathieu this morning. Of course, he’s not happy about it, but when it’s this clear, there’s no doubt about what needs to be done.”

Teammate Emiel Verstrynge also noticed Van der Poel’s condition deteriorating. “He’d been struggling for a few days. We already heard in the morning that he wasn’t feeling well. Mathieu still joined the training ride, but when he didn’t show up for dinner that evening, we knew something was wrong,” said the Belgian.