Teammates of Mathieu van der Poel are primarily aiming for a Tour de France stage victory instead of pursuing the green jersey objective.
In a laid-back chat, Alpecin-Deceuninck's manager, Christoph Roodhooft, spilled the beans about their game plan for the upcoming Tour de France. Unlike what you might expect, they're not all about snatching the green jersey just yet. Instead, the team is setting their sights on something more tantalizing: stage victories.
Top dogs, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel, are the main men Alpecin-Deceuninck are banking on. These champions have a history of shaking things up in the Tour, with a total of 10 stage wins between them in the past four editions. Philipsen even bagged the green jersey in 2023, while van der Poel donned the coveted yellow jersey for a few days in 2021.
It's a dynamic duo that works like a well-oiled machine. Van der Poel has often served as the final lead-out man for Philipsen, a partnership that's resulted in nine of Philipsen's stage victories. With another shot at glory in July, the pair will team up once more, with van der Poel also eyeing his own chances at success.
"We haven't made any grand plans about the green jersey just yet," Roodhooft said candidly when asked about their green jersey ambitions. "Our main focus is on the mass sprint on day one. It's a more pleasing Tour for non-climbers, and we always aim to win a stage. No, we're not aiming too low—it's just not obvious," he added with a laugh.
With a mass sprint finish expected on stage 1 in Lille, Philipsen has a shot at the first stage win of the race and the desirable yellow jersey. The first week of the race also includes four more sprint stages and Classics-style hilly stages, increasing van der Poel's chances to snatch the yellow jersey.
Roodhooft also acknowledged that riders like van der Poel and his arch-rival, Wout van Aert, might seize these opportunities for a shot at the yellow jersey. Bonuses in the initial stages can provide a significant advantage, and van der Poel shouldn't shy away from taking advantage when the chance arises.
Van der Poel, who recently returned to competition after a mountain bike crash, impressed at the Critérium du Dauphiné. He attacked on three of the eight stages, securing four top-10 placings in the process and almost bagging the green points jersey. After the race, he claimed, "It was a brutal week, and it was just what I needed for the Tour, so I'm overjoyed." Roodhooft was equally pleased with his performance.
"We went to the Critérium du Dauphiné with the goal of winning a stage, and Mathieu came close to the green jersey. We can be satisfied with the training intensity—that goal was certainly achieved," he said.
While van der Poel will still feel the lingering effects of his wrist injury, Roodhooft is confident that come the start of the Tour, it will be a distant memory, forgotten in the heat of the competition.
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Alpecin-Deceuninck's primary objective in the upcoming Tour de France is not to focus solely on the green jersey, but rather to aim for stage victories, as revealed by their manager, Christoph Roodhooft. In this pursuit, Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel, with their combined history of success in the Tour, will lead the team.
