Van der Poel's dad critical of Tour de France organisation: 'Start by properly mapping out the course'

As the world’s largest cycling race, the Tour de France is, of course, a massive logistical operation. There are many factors involved, but transportation is a recurring point of discussion every year. According to Adrie van der Poel, father of Mathieu the organisers missed the mark this year. It seems Alpecin-Premier Tech arrived at the hotel very late on Tuesday following Stage 4.

The finish line was in Foix on Tuesday after Stage 4, while Stage 5 will start in Lannemezan on Wednesday. That town is located about 120 kilometers west of Foix; as of this writing (Wednesday morning), the navigation system estimates the drive to take 1 hour and 40 minutes. On Tuesday evening, with all the Tour buses heading in that direction, the trip likely took considerably longer.

"Three hours," Van der Poel Sr. told Sporza. Mathieu van der Poel’s father spoke out against the Tour de France route. “It was an hour and a half drive to the start of the stage, and after the stage, it was another three hours on the bus to get back to the hotel.”

Adrie is still closely involved with the team his son rides for, and knows just how hard everyone at Alpecin-Premier Tech has been working. “On our team, they work until midnight. I saw Philip (Roodhooft, ed.) bring a plate of food to the mechanics, because the kitchen closes at 12.”

According to Van der Poel Sr., these are “things that could definitely be improved.” Especially when he sees that the UCI took emergency action on Tuesday due to the heat. “And then today they’re going to debate water bottles. Start by properly mapping out the course. Make sure the route is reasonable.”