Van der Poel on stage 2 chances at the Dauphiné and MTB plans: "I’m not losing sleep over other people's opinions"

Sunday's efforts have had no further impact on his wrist injury in Nove Mesto. "No, as I said before, it's pretty okay," he told Cycling Pro before the start of the second stage. "It's not really painful. I can feel it, and it's a bit annoying. But during the race, I can definitely forget about it." In the first stage, Van der Poel fought for the stage win, eventually finishing third behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.

The final stretch to Issoire is also quite tricky. "Yesterday, I thought it would be a sprint, and I expect the same today. But apparently, you never know until you reach the finish line," laughs the former world champion. He is unlikely to launch an attack himself. "No, I don't think so. The climb isn't as difficult as yesterday. That was tough, but today, it will probably be a sprint. We'll see. It's hard to say how difficult the ride will be, but we'll have to wait and see what the race brings us."

Van der Poel responded to the criticism in Het Laatste Nieuws criticism of his mountain biking plans. The crash disrupted his preparations for the Dauphiné. "It's especially unfortunate because I was looking forward to mountain biking. I don't lose sleep over other people's opinions. I'll do what I have in mind. After the Tour, I will prepare for the Mountain Bike World Championships as well as possible. Setbacks are part of the game. It just makes me more determined to do better next time."

The double crash in the opening round of the World Cup will not affect his future. "I've ridden the course in Nove Mesto a hundred times, so to speak. I've also ridden it at a race pace, and everything went perfectly. It was just an unfortunate combination of circumstances. It's good that I can prepare for the World Championships after the Tour. Hopefully, I can do a few more races. I don't know exactly what that schedule will look like yet. First, I'll see how I feel after the Tour. But I do have time. It's up to me to prove I still have what it takes to mountain bike."