Mathieu van der Poel is preparing for the Tour de France in the Tour of Switzerland. The 31-year-old Dutchman will make his return to the cycling peloton in the five-day stage race, from 17 to 21 June.
Van der Poel did not play for more than two months. He rode his last race on April 12 with Paris-Roubaix. This spring he won Omloop Nieuwsblad, two stages in Tirreno-Adriatico and the E3 Classic.
In the monuments he had to settle for places of honor: eighth in Milan-San Remo, second in the Tour of Flanders and fourth in Paris-Roubaix.
It will be Van der Poel’s second participation in the Tour of Switzerland. In 2021 he won two stages.
Cycling calendar 2026
• On these days are the Tour de France, the World Cup and other major races
The Dutchman will in any case have Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen as a teammate in the Tour of Switzerland and the Tour de France. This was announced by their Alpecin-Premier Tech team.
The Tour starts on July 4 in Barcelona and ends on July 26. Van der Poel will not participate in mountain bike competitions before then. The former road world champion previously indicated that he hopes to participate in the World Cup in Italy at the end of August.
Follow the podcast In Het Wiel on Instagramalso for behind-the-scenes videos!