Van der Poel: Dauphiné Breakaway Falls Short | Cycling News

After a gruelling 207km day in the Dauphiné criterium breakaway, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) said stage 3 from Brioude to Charantonnay was “one of the hardest days on the bike ever”, which is some description for a man who makes his money dominating the Monuments of cycling.

Van der Poel was active from the flag drop in a rapid opening hour of climbing, with Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty) sparking the 13-rider breakaway that survived all the way to the finish, but the Dutchman was unable to take victory.

In search of his first stage win at a WorldTour race since the 2022 Giro d’Italia, Van der Poel was unable to time a late attack perfectly, getting marked and looked to do the lion’s share of the work, as Iván Romeo (Movistar) eventually soloed to victory.

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Nonetheless, still racing just two weeks after fracturing his wrist in a mountain bike raceVan der Poel is quickly building in form with the Tour de France under a month away, adding a fifth-place finish to his third-place finishes from stages 1 and 2.

“It was one of the hardest days on the bike I’ve ever had,” said Van der Poel to CyclingProNet. “We have 45 kilometres per hour average, 3000 altitude metres, that says enough, I think.

“Again, I’m super happy with the shape actually, but it’s difficult to win in this position as well, everything needs to be 100% correct, and it was a bit of a gamble in the end, but a really nice day out there.

“For the shape, it’s important to have hard days like this; it’s impossible to recreate them in training, so that’s why I’m here.”

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After the brutally quick start in the heat, the large break had several GC hopefuls present, notably Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), causing Soudal-QuickStep, Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG to keep things close.

Working for Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, respectively, meant those in front had to work even harder to maintain a gap that was often under the two-minute mark.

The salt marks on Van der Poel’s jersey were a sign of how difficult the stage was, and when it came to the final fight for the win, he ran out of steam and was either unable or opted not to follow Romeo’s second move, having marked many of the previous attacks.

“It was a lot of riders looking at me, but, of course, in the end, you also need to look at the other riders if you want to win the stage,” said Van der Poel.

“It’s not up to me to react to every single attack, so that was the gamble in the end. I responded to several, but not all of them.

“We thought that the breakaway might have a chance today, but we didnd’t get that much room I think because of Lipowitz that was in our group that was a bit of a pity, but we pulled really hard all day to make it and it’s good to at least have some points in the end,” he added, after extending his lead in the green jersey competition.

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Van der Poel’s “Hardest Day Ever”: Dauphiné Stage 3 Analysis with Cycling Expert Dr. Anya Sharma

keywords: Mathieu van der Poel,Critérium du Dauphiné,Cycling Stage Race,Iván Romeo,Breakaway,Tour de France Training,Cycling News

Time.news: Dr. sharma, thanks for joining us. Mathieu van der Poel called Stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné “one of the hardest days on the bike ever.” That’s a strong statement coming from a rider who has conquered so many Monuments. What’s yoru take on this?

Dr. Anya Sharma: Absolutely. When a cyclist of Van der Poel’s caliber makes such a statement, it definitely warrants attention. Stage 3 was clearly brutal.The combination of a rapid opening hour, over 200km distance, 3000 meters of altitude gain, and an average speed of 45 km/h is a recipe for extreme exertion. adding to the pressure,he was part of a breakaway that wasn’t given much leeway by the peloton.

Time.news: The article mentions Van der Poel was active from the start, part of a 13-rider breakaway. What was the strategic significance of getting into that early breakaway?

Dr. Sharma: Breakaways are complex tactical plays. For Van der Poel, it could have been a few things. Firstly, a chance to win the stage, of course. Secondly, a fantastic training day that is difficult to replicate at home. He mentioned his wrist injury, the Dauphiné is invaluable preparation and race conditioning ahead of the Tour de france. as demonstrated, with florian Lipowitz within the break, it forced the bigger teams to chase down the break, and expend critically important amounts of energy.

Time.news: Iván Romeo ended up taking the stage victory. Van der Poel finished 5th after finishing in the top 3 in stages 1 and 2. What can you tell us about Romeo’s Victory? Why do you think that Van der Poel was unable to make the final attack towards the end?

Dr.Sharma: Romeo’s solo victory was very impressive.He demonstrated fantastic racing acumen and also amazing strength. Considering those previous efforts, Van der Poel mentioned that the breakaway didn’t achieve much room from the peloton, so to maintain the break, he was needed to work extra hard. In addition to this, Van der Poel said that coming into the final stretch, many other riders began to look to him to make the moves. And he said “It’s not up to me to react to every single attack”. this essentially left him to have to choose which moves to go with.Because of this, he expended a lot of energy at the start and that impacted his explosiveness when it came to the final.

Time.news: The article highlights Van der Poel’s wrist injury just two weeks prior. How does that recent injury impact his performance in a stage like this? Is there real risk injury here?

Dr. Sharma: Any recent injury, especially a fracture, will impact a rider’s comfort and power output. Even if he says it’s not “really hurting,” the subconscious guarding and slight limitations in grip or handling can be significant, especially in the high-stress habitat of a race, when you add to this that wrist injuries are incredibly susceptible to re-injury, so any falls could cause further issues. It has to be concerning to his coaching team and fans that he is racing with it.

Time.news: Van der Poel also mentioned the presence of Florian Lipowitz in the breakaway playing a role in the team’s tactics. What did he mean here. How did this make the stage more difficult?

Dr. Sharma: In cycling, the presence of a strong GC contender in a breakaway automatically ramps up the pressure from the peloton. Other teams like soudal-QuickStep, visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates, who are working for their own general classification contenders (such as Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar), simply can’t afford to let a rider like Lipowitz gain too much time. This reduces the breakaway’s chance of staying away, as those teams will chase hard, shrinking the gap.

Time.news: What practical advice can amateur cyclists take from this stage and Van der Poel’s experience, specifically in planning and pacing for long, hilly rides?

Dr. Sharma: Firstly, proper pacing.Don’t burn all your matches in the first hour! Conserving energy for the final kilometres is crucial. Secondly, practice your climbing technique but focus on endurance. Replicating the duration of thes rides in training is key to conditioning and building resistance. hydration and nutrition are paramount. Carrying enough fluids and energy gels becomes incredibly important in maintaining performance across a very hard and long race.

Time.news: Dr.Sharma, thanks for providing your expert insights on this brutal stage and what it means for Van der Poel and the peloton heading into the Tour de France.

Dr. Anya Sharma: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.