SONDRIO – When yesterday he hung up the number for the first stage of the Tour de Suisse, Mathieu Van der Poel had not raced since finishing fourth in Roubaix. A really strange year for him so far, with the victory at Omloop Nieuwsblad on his seasonal debut, then at Tirreno and Harelbeke and everything around painful placings at the Tour of Flanders and Roubaix, which has seen him off the podium only twice in his career: in 2022 and last April 12.
Knowing him, it can't be said that 2026 has been satisfactory so far. And it certainly wouldn't have been yesterday after the arrival, having crossed the finish line 13'22” behind the unleashed PogacarIf he really thought he could win as he had said on the eve, the awakening was truly rude. Tadej turned the stage into a bullfight with just 2.446 meters of altitude difference, inflicting gaps worthy of a Dolomite stage. Against someone like that, every plan fails.
«I took a break of almost two months – he admits – I did some laps among the sponsors and then I did a good preparation, first alone and then with the team in Spain, so I felt ready to get back to racing. We had a great training camp with the team right after Philipsen's victory in Copenhagen. Tour de Suisse It only lasts five days, yesterday was already hard, but the goal remains to win a stage».
The poker face
Mathieu doesn't let any emotion show on his poker face: Correct and timely in his answers, but nothing more than that. At most, a smile if the question provokes him.. The last time he came to the Tour de Suisse It was 2021: in his palmares there was… only the first Flanders and from there he took home the first two stages, then he retired. Same story at the Tour de France: he gave up in the Tignes stage, but won the second on the Mur de Bretagne in front of Pogacar, with a dedication to grandfather Poulidor.
“Every day here is very difficult,” he says, “but I think it’s a perfect race. It's not too long, the stages are quite short, so the racing will be intense until Sunday. It's been a while since I've been here, I have some great memories, so I hope we can create some new ones. Sure. winning when the courses are so tough becomes hard, it also depends on what the general classification riders want to do."
Pogacar's victim
Van der Poel's position has started to become uncomfortable since cycling has levelled the gap between athletes and Mathieu found himself with the GC men and sprinters in the classics that once upon a time they wouldn't have even come close to.In his case, having Philipsen at home means having to take into account the ambitions of someone who was capable of winning Sanremo, while Pogacar's presence has already made everything more precarious.
It is no coincidence that the jaunty Van der Poel who won races after reckless but beautiful escapes has given way to a… surgeon usually capable of finalizing the effort with great victories.
“I’ve been without running for a long time,” says Van der Poel, “so I couldn’t wait to get started. I know the area a little thanks to the many retreats I've done here. I know I'll have to suffer, but it's necessary to be ready for the Tour de France. I haven't had any setbacks. I just wanted to do two MTB races, but it wasn't possible due to some back problems that resolved themselves quickly».
The call of the MTB
The off-road, plus the mountain bike of the cyclocross in which Van der Poel is practically unbeatable, it remains his obsession. It is the conquest that has always repelled him and also made him appear clumsy., with his Olympic falls and lackluster performances in recent outings. And if anything can sting his pride, this is the right button to push.
«I confirm that I want to participate in the mountain bike world championships (August 26-30, ed.) – says Van der Poel – but I need to keep the two worlds separate. First we wanted to prepare as best we could for the Tour de France and I will focus on mountain biking later - time should be enoughIt won't be ideal, but I want to try. And then there will be the road world championships (September 27, ed.). They are in the program, but the summer is still very long."
