Mathieu van der Poel’s performance and emotional statements during the latest stage of the Tour de France have raised serious doubts about his future in the race. After a grueling ride into Rouen, where he lost out to Tadej Pogačar in the final sprint, van der Poel admitted to reporters that his body was reaching its limit. “I could feel my legs burning,” he said. “I’m on my limit and Tadej was simply stronger than everyone.” Despite still holding onto the yellow jersey at the end of the stage, he sounded far from confident about retaining it for much longer. “If I’m realistic, I know that I will probably lose it in tomorrow’s ITT,” he added, referring to the crucial individual time trial scheduled for the following day.
His remarks, while emotionally honest, also highlight the physical toll the race has taken on him—especially considering his injury earlier this season. Van der Poel suffered a fractured wrist during a mountain bike World Cup race in Nové Město and has been racing with discomfort since. While he returned to form quickly and even managed top performances at the Critérium du Dauphiné, there has been growing concern that he might not have recovered enough to sustain a full three-week Grand Tour campaign.
This year, van der Poel has had major successes in one-day races like Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, where his aggressive and explosive riding style thrives. The longer, more controlled grind of the Tour de France doesn’t always suit him, something he’s acknowledged in past interviews. “It’s a race that I don’t really like,” he once said. “Apart from trying to win stages and wear the yellow jersey … there’s not much to gain for me in the Tour.” His remarks after stage four seem to echo this sentiment—suggesting a man who is questioning the value of continuing, both physically and mentally.
His team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, remains cautiously optimistic about his condition, but it’s clear van der Poel is wrestling with his motivation. He admitted that being in yellow offered some incentive to push through, but with the time trial ahead and general classification contenders like Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel likely to surge past him, it’s uncertain whether he’ll continue at full intensity. There’s also the unspoken possibility that he may abandon the Tour altogether if his form continues to decline or if the wrist injury becomes unmanageable.
Van der Poel’s value as a rider lies not just in his results, but in his charisma and style. He draws fans with his fearless attacks and all-or-nothing approach to racing. Whether he continues in this year’s Tour or shifts focus back to the one-day classics and mountain biking remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: his emotional transparency has once again reminded fans that even the most powerful athletes face moments of vulnerability and self-doubt on the sport’s biggest stage.
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