Matthew van der Poel will run in place of Jasper Philipsen: “I hope I’ll be a little better already”

video Mathieu van der Poel tried to join the breakaway on Sunday, but when that didn’t work out, the world champion opted for a quiet day in the peloton. Monday’s flat first stage will see Van der Poel at full steam when it becomes a sprint, with chances for Jasper Philipsen. “We will try to seize this opportunity,” he added. A fool.

“The feeling is absolutely fine, of course I didn’t have to push myself to the limit twice. We knew this was the first big opportunity with Jasper,” says Van der Poel, who will be deployed as the last pawn in the sprint train. “Normally yes. It depends on how everyone feels, but the plan is that, just like last year, I’m the last man before Jasper.

“As a team, we have not yet shown that we drove well, but these were not our stages either. It is important that we choose our days and these are the days to do it,” said Alpecin leader Desoninck. “It will be great, but everyone wants to win too. It’s never easy, last year was exceptional in that regard. If we don’t win, there will still be chances.”

“It’s a small income of course, I wish I could do a little better, and the heat bothers me, but there are still a lot of opportunities,” he says optimistically.