Mathieu van der Poel has pulled the plugs of his Tour de France journey, abandoning the tour midway. The news came in on the 13th of July, Wednesday, but it was no surprise as the Alpecin-Deceuninck was clearly struggling ever since the start of the tour.
And that’s the end of @mathieuvdpoel‘s Tour de France unfortunately. https://t.co/xlpO797nAe
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) July 13, 2022
He had previously confessed that he was thinking to abandon the tour. The rider did not have a very good start at the time trial, and the cobles just landed another blow. Stage ten proved to be the last straw, and the 27-year-old could not add more to his misery.
It is saddening because Van Der Poel came to the tour with high hopes. The Dutch rider had originally planned to take the yellow jersey at the Roubaix, but things did not turn out the way he wanted.
He has termed his second Tour de France as plainly “Miserable”. Despite having the COVID-19 test undertaken, and taking all the other necessary precautions, the root cause of his dissatisfaction remains unknown. One can only speculate until things become clearer.
It is unlikely Mathieu to quite something, as the star is known for his high spirit and dedication. However, he decided to just break off in the middle of stage eleven, unbothered to even finish what he started.
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Mathieu sprinted with Van Aert, delivering an attack on the first kilometers of stage 11, fans thought everything is back on the track, but things quickly took a turn for the worse and Van der Poel just dropped from the race
We hope Mathieu can find solace from whatever is bothering him soon!
Also Read: Tour De France: Magnus Cort’s Dreams Come True As He Crosses The Finish Line
Featured Image Via YouTube/ FloBikes
