Mathieu van der Poel has been a key to Alpecin-Deceuninck's achievements at the Tour de France in the first week, delivering an unbeatable lead-out for Jasper Philipsen in all three of the Belgian's stage victories. The haul of points has given Philipsen a 110-point lead in the green jersey competition over the next-best rider.
On the first rest day in Clermont-Ferrand, Van der Poel and Philipsen reflected on what was a better-than-expected opening to the Tour for the Dutch-speaking media.
By all measures, the race is already a success for the team and for Van der Poel, who is the last man for Philipsen this year, and after nine days of sacrificing his chances, there may also be some opportunities for Van der Poel to add a second stage win to his palmares.
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"Tomorrow's and Thursday's stages look OK on paper, although it is always difficult to estimate whether it will be a breakaway or a thinned peloton," Van der Poel said in a report on Sporza.
Van der Poel has no regrets that he gave up any chance of winning in the first week. "Of course, I would like to win myself. If I had participated in the sprint myself, I might have finished close, but the chance of winning is always greater with Jasper."
Van der Poel wasn't the planned last man for Philipsen this year, that role is usually reserved for Jonas Rickaert, but in Tirreno-Adriatico, Rickaert wasn't on the team.
"At first the order was reversed and I went before Ramon Sinkeldam," Van der Poel explained. On that stage to Follonica, Fabio Jakobsen beat Philipsen. "But a day later I suggested turning it around and putting me as the last man."
Two stage wins with Van der Poel as last man in Tirreno-Adriatico were enough for the team to roll out the new train for the Tour de France, with Rickaert second to last before Van der Poel.
"It's an easy role for me. I blindly trust Jonas, he actually makes my job easy," Van der Poel said.
This week, the Tour de France route gets decidedly tougher with just one stage for Philipsen. Tuesday's stage to Issoire has five categorised climbs, the last being 31km from the finish. A flat stage follows on Wednesday before another day with short, steep climbs ending with 29km to go. The race then heads back into the high mountains.
Philipsen's handy lead makes him the best bet to win the green jersey in Paris but he's not ready to rest on his laurels.
"We have to remain critical, that's why every sprint is still being analysed. We can't think it will all go easy," Philipsen said.
"I'm in a good position, but it's still a long way off."
This week he faces a fight mainly for intermediate sprint points, which come nestled among some tough climbs. Even the flat stage to Moulins has a climb before the intermediate sprint.
"I certainly shouldn't miss out on points when my competitors do take them," Philipsen said. "In the coming stages, it will be difficult to collect a lot in the intermediate sprints, although that may also be the case for the other sprinters.
"Wednesday, towards Moulins, may be my only chance for sprint success next week. That is where my focus is now."
