Van der Poel had big plans, but ended up as a crucial support rider for Philipsen at the Tour de France

Mathieu van der Poel played a heroic role for Jasper Philipsen in Stage 17 of the Tour de France. The Dutchman had his sights set on what appeared to be a transitional stage, but because his teammate Jasper Philipsen—like many other sprinters—was part of the breakaway, he ended up playing the role of lead-out man. With two crucial moves, he secured a much-needed stage victory for his Belgian teammate.

As mentioned, Van der Poel had circled the 17th stage of the Tour in red on his calendar. It was no coincidence that he had taken it easy in the Vosges and treated Tuesday’s time trial as little more than an extra rest day. “It was an incredibly tough day. Especially at the start, I tried to keep up with everyone,” Van der Poel panted to NOS after the finish of Stage 17.

"At one point, I thought the leading group had pulled away, but it just kept going on and on," he continued. Alpecin-Premier Tech, however, not only had Van der Poel up front but also had Edward Planckaert tagging along as a liability in a group of six. This allowed Philipsen to stay with the groups behind and capitalize when everything came together in the final stretch.

"As a team, we worked really well," Van der Poel noted. “We knew going in that we’d have to adjust our plan frequently. Especially in the middle section—when the field was completely broken up—we had someone positioned everywhere, even though it was hard to get a clear overview. That allowed us to adapt quickly.”

Van der Poel’s most decisive surge came on the final, uncategorized climb. When Per Strand Hagenes attacked hard on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike, it briefly looked like a small group might break away. Van der Poel, however, surged forward in one go, rode right up alongside them with authority, and thus made it clear: we’ve got you under control.

"I was at my limit," Van der Poel said afterward. "But I knew it was necessary on that climb. Looking back, I wasn’t actually planning to do a lead-out, because I was really at my limit. But a gap opened up twice, so I had to close it for Jasper. In the end, he did it perfectly, just like he used to. He was already pulling up alongside me while I hadn’t even finished the lead-out yet. That’s when I know he’s hard to beat.”

"This does feel a bit like winning it myself," said Van der Poel. “It’s also easier once you’ve already won a stage yourself. Then it’s easier to play that card, although as a team we simply rode an incredible stage today. I told Jasper we had to stay calm, but he was already unstoppable at the intermediate sprint. We had to focus on the win.”