Dylan van Baarle watches girlfriend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot take control of the Tour: "Still figuring out how I’ll get there on Sunday"

Van Baarle is currently at altitude training in Tignes and rode from there to the Tour de France Femmes to cheer on his girlfriend. The two have to coordinate their busy lives as professional athletes. “Pauline was heading to the Tour de France Femmes in Tignes, where I am now. To see her, I went a week earlier. We try to enjoy those moments.”

During the race, he tries to follow everything as closely as possible. “The day before yesterday, for example, we had two training sessions in one day, but I still try to watch everything back. During the first stage, in the last five kilometers, I did get a bit nervous. The first ride in a Tour is always exciting.”

Van Baarle has noticed that his girlfriend is popular in France. “She's already experienced quite a lot on her mountain bike, but now it's been eight or nine days in a row of being cheered on like that. When we go cycling together, people ask me if I want to take a photo of Pauline.”

The former winner of Paris-Roubaix tries to help Ferrand-Prévot where he can. “By being there physically, but we also talked about the Madeleine, for example.”

Van Baarle went to train ‘as usual’ after the start of stage eight, then watched the stage in Tignes. "That was very special. Really cool. I wasn't quite screaming in front of the TV, but I did have a big smile on my face," said the Dutchman, who would like to be at the finish on Sunday. "I would love to be there, but how? I still have to figure that out."