Will Mathieu van der Poel pull off the same stunt as in 2021? "I hope so, but I also need to be realistic"

Van der Poel was left feeling slightly bitter, as he would have loved a special finish photo. “When I tried to launch my sprint, I noticed my legs just didn’t want to go with me anymore. I’m still a bit disappointed, because I really wanted to win in the yellow jersey. You always want more in life. But Tadej was just too strong; it wasn’t in the cards,” he said in the flash interview.

“On the other hand, I’m proud that I was able to mix it up again, because I was surrounded by climbers. So I have to be happy with that,” Van der Poel said, giving himself some credit. “That last little climb really hurt. I had to go over my limit to stay with the second group, and I was able to take advantage of Remco Evenepoel closing the gap,” added MVDP, who in his press conference looked ahead to Wednesday’s stage: a 33-kilometer time trial in and around Caen.

Mathieu, how did the finale go from your perspective?
“Every little climb was ridden really hard. Visma | Lease a Bike detonated a bomb with their whole team on that last hill, after which Tadej attacked. Only Jonas Vingegaard could follow, and for the rest of us, it was painful. I still wanted to sprint, but I immediately felt my legs give out. Tadej was the strongest, simple as that.

There’s not much else to say. Everyone can see how strong Tadej is, and luckily I’ve been able to beat him a few times, but today it just didn’t work out. I was hoping to recover a bit, but he just had more left in the tank than I did.”

Have you heard anything more from Jasper Philipsen?
“I really wanted to win for him, but he’s the first to know how hard it is to beat Tadej. When your legs fill up with lactate, there’s not much you can do about it. Jasper is very disappointed, but for now he needs to think about his recovery first.”

In 2021 you were able to keep the yellow jersey with a strong time trial, are you hoping for that scenario now too?
“I hope so, but I also have to be realistic. Back then I had a bigger gap on the guys behind me, whereas now Tadej is on the same time. This is probably going to be my last day in yellow. I’ve enjoyed it, but I would’ve loved to win in the yellow jersey too. Still, I’m happy I get to wear it for another day.”

Did you make any changes to your position after the time trial in the Dauphiné, in which you finished sixth?
“No. I’m riding with the same set-up as that day. Hopefully I can squeeze out another good time trial.”

If you don’t lose much time, maybe you can take it back on Wednesday or Thursday?
'I don't see myself just taking time on Tadej. Everyone sees how well he rides and he is also capable of riding a very good time trial. I will still try anyway, but rather with the stage win in mind.'