Mathieu van der Poel has admitted he has very mixed feelings about the Tour de France, the pain and suffering of racing for three weeks only occasionally rewarded with stage victories and short spells in the yellow jersey. But with the Dutchman revealing that 2027 could be the last Tour of his career, he has newfound enthusiasm for this year's race.
Van der Poel's palmares is heavy with Classics victories, a World Championships road race, and a record-breaking eight cyclo-cross world titles. He hopes to finally add a mountain bike Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028, and then could end his career.
"That would be wonderful. But I also know how difficult that will be," van der Poel told a small group of Dutch-speaking media in a pre-Tour de France interview.
Latest Videos From
"I think 2028 could be a nice endpoint. Then I’ll be 33, a good age to stop. But nothing is final yet. If I still have the level in 2028 and still enjoy doing it, then anything is still possible."
Van der Poel won a stage to Boulogne-sur-Mer in the 2025 Tour, beating Tadej Pogacar in a reduced sprint. He wore the yellow jersey for four days and was in five other breakaways but was forced to quit the race before stage 16 due to pneumonia.
His long spells in France in July have often meant a lot of effort for little reward.
"I have a love-hate relationship with the Tour," Van der Poel said.
"But the older I get, the more I enjoy going to the Tour. So I certainly don't leave home reluctantly. Of course, I still prefer one-day races, in those I can be completely myself, but by now I can better accept that in a Grand Tour there are stages where I don't play a role."
Van der Poel will again team up with Jasper Philipsen as team leaders for Alpecin-Premier Tech. The Belgian will target the sprints and the green points jersey, with van der Poel often his leadout man and alternative on hillier stages and finishes.
"I get a lot of satisfaction from trying to win stages with him," Van der Poel said.
"I think I have to be realistic: on eight out of ten finishes, Jasper is faster than me. Of course, there are finishes that might suit me but then we have to prioritise the green jersey. If he were to lead out the sprint for me, he would lose too many points. I know that so I have no problem with it."
The opening TTT, then yellow on stage 2?
Van der Poel revealed he will be Alpecin-Premier Tech's protected rider in the opening team time trial in Barcelona on Saturday, in the hope of having a shot at then taking yellow if he can then win stage 2 on the same uphill finish to Montjuïc on Sunday.
"We have invested in the TTT as a team and are certainly going to give it a chance but we have never really proven anything in a team time trial like this. I hope we can spring a surprise," van der Poel said, perhaps remembering his strong time trial performance at the Tour de Suisse when he went close to beating Pogačar.
"On paper, stage 2 should suit me but riders like Pogačar, Evenepoel, and Vingegaard also go all out on those finishes and then it won't be easy for the rest to keep up. I'm certainly going to try to take the yellow jersey but it won't be easy at all."
Van der Poel will surely go on the attack on other stages but will have to roll the dice against other Classics riders and stage hunters, while also working for Philipsen. That could mean the Tour is three weeks of suffering until a final shot at stage victory on the streets of Paris.
"The new course with the Montmartre is certainly something to look forward to," he said.
"I saw Wout Van Aert win on television last year. And I have to say: it did hurt a bit not to be there."
The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.
