2023-07-08 11:16:53
She doesn’t like to talk much. “The light was for dad, for my son or my husband, not for me,” she apologizes. Yet Corinne Poulidor cannot escape cycling. The three syllables of her birth name inevitably bring her back to the world of cycling. Like the three of his wife’s surname: van der Poel. Like Adrie, her husband, winner in particular of the 1986 Tour of Flanders and especially like her second son, Mathieu, one of the stars of the Tour peloton.
Former yellow jersey and who won, among other things, Paris-Roubaix this year. So Corinne Poulidor agreed to speak a little longer than usual. The Tour arrives this Saturday in Limoges, in the region of his childhood. And, better, will start Sunday from the village of Raymond, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat. “It’s really a nice gift that the Tour gave us, she smiles. Dad loved cycling and the Tour de France so much. In Saint-Léonard, there will be an exhibition on dad and it pays him a beautiful tribute. »
“With Mathieu as with dad, I never talk about cycling”
Her father precisely, she evokes him with modesty. “People liked it because they thought it was simple. I can tell you that in real life, he was a very nice person. And he never refused a photo or an autograph. “It is perhaps because the most famous non-winner of the Tour attracted the light that she always preferred the shade. “And I could not imagine that with Mathieu, it would be the same, smiles Corinne Poulidor. But with him as with dad, I never talk about cycling. »
During this Tour, the star rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck has so far mainly stood out in a role of luxury pilot fish for the house sprinter, Jasper Philipsen. A mission perfectly fulfilled since Philipsen won three stages in the sprint. But obviously, a runner the size of Poupou’s grandson is not there just to play expensive paid teammates. He wants to offer himself a second success after winning the 2nd stage of the Tour 2021, taking the yellow jersey in the process and ending the curse of grandpa.
“My son has been dreaming of the Limoges stage for a while, says Corinne Poulidor. She is close to his heart because we arrive in a region where he went on vacation when he was little. I believe he is capable of winning there. Everyone talks to us about the Puy de Dôme but I don’t think he is a good enough climber. »
Finally at the end of the Tour?
Van der Poel tried to make Bordeaux believe he was not interested. But without convincing. “Jasper (Philipsen) is aiming for the green jersey so it’s better to leave the points to him I think. That’s right, yes… Because certainly, this 8th stage between Libourne and Limoges seems reserved for sprinters. But with two fourth-category climbs fifteen kilometers from Place Jourdan and above all a final uphill marker, van der Poel has the means to shine under mum’s eyes.
And maybe the latter will find her son before the Champs-Élysées. Admittedly, Mathieu van der Poel announced that he wanted to join after two half-tours (voluntary abandonment to prepare for the Games in 2021 and departure due to poor form the following year. But on the other hand, the big objective of his second part of the season is the World Championship in Glasgow on August 13. Here too he has revenge to take on fate.Last year, he had to stop after thirty kilometers after spending a night at the Sydney police station, accused of molesting two teenage girls who were making too much noise at his hotel. CCTV footage had cleared him a few days later. Van der Poel did not digest this episode. He does not forget anything. Neither failures nor the region of his childhood memories.
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