Van der Poel and grand tours: "Clearly not a grand tour rider," says Michael Boogerd

"It's clear that Van der Poel isn't really a grand tour rider," the 52-year-old former pro asserts. "But if a Tour is designed one year where the first stages are tailored to him, then he will definitely start. He might ride for a week and then head home."

The fact that there was little positive talk about Mathieu's Tour participation, according to Boogerd, is due to the expectations surrounding the world champion. "I felt there was a bit of negativity towards Van der Poel during this Tour, but I thought it was exaggerated. People just expect a lot from him. You have to remember what he showed us this spring. Someone like Niki Terpstra was also considered a great classics rider, but he never managed to achieve much in the Tour either. I can name a few more riders who excelled in the classics but not in the Tour," the Hague native concludes.

The lead-outs that Van der Poel did for Philipsen, which helped the Belgian win three stages, did not go unnoticed by Boogerd. "He fired up the sprint for Jasper Philipsen in grand fashion a few times, so let's not be too negative. To lead out a sprint like that, you have to be motivated, because it's definitely not easy."

In any case, Boogerd has made up his mind about whether Van der Poel is a rider for grand tours. "I tend to agree with the notion that he's realizing he's not suited to ride a grand tour for three weeks," the ever-cheerful Boogerd concludes.