Van der Poel and Pogacar, the never ending duel that now takes temperature on the tour: “I was afraid”

Tadej Pogacar seems to have no rival in the Francia Tour until it appears Mathieu van der Poel. In an end designed for powerful legs and cold minds, the Dutch Alpecin-DECEUNINCK He was able to beat the triple champion of the gala round on the final ramps of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he returned to write his name in golden letters four years after his first victory in the Wall of Brittany.

The duel between them left a powerful scene: Van der Poel launching the sprint from afar, Pogacar Maybe perhaps too much, and an arrival in which the world champion had to recognize the superiority of his rival. “Mathieu was the strongest in the final sprint, so I congratulate him. It is difficult to beat him in the sprint. Being honest, I put the leg a little because he gave me a little scary to spry against him and waited too much time to his wheel,” confessed the Slovenian, second in the stage and in the general after that epic day in the Pas-de-Calais region.

Van der Poel, that he had already savored such a victory in 2021 and that in recent months he has folded Pogacar's arm in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, he again confirmed that in the nervous finals of the first week he can be as lethal as in a northern classic. “These types of tours motivate me especially. It is not that I have not won more stages before, it is that the profile did not accompany me. This week is full of arrivals that adapt to me,” The Dutch explained.

The stage, tense and plagued with dimensions, with intermittent rain and a platoon that broke into the climb to Saint-Étienne-au-Mont, It served as a perfect setting for this new installment of a rivalry that, without being for the yellow jersey, is becoming one of the most attractive of modern cycling.

Van der Poel It didn't have it easy. He acknowledged that the hardness of the latest ramps almost brought him out of the fight. “They have put me to the limit, but I knew that if I crowned near Pogacar, I could have my chance,” story. He did so: he resisted, placed and attacked with everything. His gesture after crossing the goal, a mixture of rage and emotion, reflected the importance of the moment.

On the other side, Pogacar took stock without losing his smile. “It was a good day, a long and hard stage. There was a bit of everything: rain, stress, attacks … I felt good about the end, and my team did enough well. I am very happy to have achieved a second place second place,” he said.

The Slovenian also came out with an extra prize: the Mailot of Lunars. “I did not expect to put the mountain jersey, but here I am and I will enjoy the day with him tomorrow. I have won it twice, but I only took it once in five tours. It will be a special day, ”he said.

While the Tour Start with strong emotions and open scripts, Van der Poel Threat with more chapters of prominence. He has prepared this start of the career as never, with height and Dauphiné included in your program. On the immediate horizon, goals that he knows and where he can challenge the reign of Pogacar: RUAN, VIR-NORMANDIE and, of course, the return to Brittany wall, The place where it all started.

Meanwhile, there is also space for the third actor in discord: Jonas Vingegaard. The Danish, who was third in the stage, also left his mark. “We expected to attack, after what we saw in the Dauphiné. It is a pleasure to see it like that, it made us suffer,” Pogacar summarized.

The battle just begins, but Van der Poel He has already made it clear that he does not plan to stay as a spectator. Pogacar It is still the pattern, but there are endings where he doubts and there, the Dutch finds his hole. His battle is not only limited to the classics, he also reaches the tour. It is, luckily for many, the never ending duel.