In Ede he defeated Olav Kooij and outgoing champion Dylan Groenewegen at the NK cycling. But in principle he goes as a lead-out for the Belgian Jordi Meeus to the Tour de France next week. Or not?
The question of whether we will again see the red-white-blue win in the Tour de France-just like in 2024 with Dylan Groenewegen-made a shy smile at Van Poppel. “I had not seen that I would get that question at the end of the day. Of course I went for the title and I did not rode here to be second, but that I beat one of the biggest sprinters in the Netherlands with Olav Kooij is something. A man who reportedly signed a nice new contract with a new team and gets his own sprint train there, he hinted on the already a lot of fishing. to Decatlon-AG2R-LA global.
Praise for lead-out
It is the umpteenth time that Van Poppel proved to be able to win a sprint, yet he once made the decision not the finisher, but to want to be the lead-out. Fast men like Sam Bennett, Sam Welsford and now Jordi Meeus praised the Brabander into heaven as lead-out in recent years. But when Van Poppel sees that his sprinter does not see in his wheel, he finishes it cool himself. As he did twice this year in the Tour of Hungary, for which he was already staying in Groenewegen. “This title makes me think again,” he admitted after the Dutch Championship. “Of course this is not Tour de France, but I did have the wheel of Kooij, Timede it well and could just come by with my jump. If you could defeat this kind of fast men, then that might also work in the Tour. But then I have to get the confidence of course.”
Danny van Poppel Sprint to the national title. © ANP / ANP
Van Poppel says he mentally is a lot stronger than a few years ago when he was not always able to handle the pressure of the himself. “I have good people around me, who keep me calm and help myself put things into perspective. And I feel very much at home at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. The atmosphere is good, the people nice and the German structure that gives me the clarity that I need. I am very in my place. And I have already driven more teams, I know very happy with what I have to be with what I have to be with what I have to be with what I have to be here.” “” “”
Danny van Poppel Versue Jordi Meeus
Yet the Brabander may have to hit the table in the coming days. Because Jordi Meeus is the sprinter in the eyes of the team. But the Belgian knows very well that if he gets enclosed for a moment, red-white-blue can just sprint for the win. And to think that the brand new champion of the Netherlands had to ask a second time if he could ride in Ede. “They asked if I wanted to run that risk, a week before the Tour de France. But I wanted that. And riding the Dutch Championship is a free choice in the team. I am happy that I have come anyway. I finally win the national title with the pros.”
Danny van Poppel beats Olav Kooij in the last meters and is Dutch cycling champion
If he will win the ride, he will write history with it in the Tour, because father Jean-Paul never became national champion of his country. And Danny himself was declassed in the same Ede in 2019 for dangerous sprinting at the Dutch Championship. His silver slab – behind Fabio Jakobsen – was taken away. “Then I drove away here with a bad feeling. That is now completely reversed.” It still worked out well between Danny van Poppel and Ede.