‘Almost history’ - Van der Poel falls 0.04 seconds short of stunning Pogacar

Mathieu van der Poel lowered his head, then broke into a broad smile. It was a reaction that combined disbelief, admiration and just a hint of disappointment.

For several minutes, the Dutchman had occupied the hot seat at the Tour de Suisse, sitting bare chested in the sweltering Aarburg heat after producing a remarkable time trial. Only Tadej Pogačar remained on the course.

When the Slovenian world champion crossed the line, Van der Poel’s advantage disappeared. The difference after 23.8 kilometres was just 0.04 seconds.

“Almost history,” Van der Poel said later to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, still smiling as he met Dutch reporters in the lobby of his team hotel. “I should not think too much about those three tenths of a second.”

Once again, it was Pogačar who had denied him.

“Well, there is nothing you can do about that,” Van der Poel said.

Yet the most striking performance of the afternoon came from Van der Poel. After a subdued opening to his final stage race before the Tour de France, he attacked every corner of the technical course and maintained his speed deep into the finale.

He was five seconds behind Pogačar and Mathias Vacek at the intermediate checkpoint after 10.3 kilometres, but gained considerable ground during the second half. His time pushed Tim Wellens out of the hot seat and, for several minutes, raised the possibility of a first professional time trial victory.

Pogačar eventually denied him by just 0.04 seconds.

Van der Poel had approached the stage as more than a test. He has spent extra time on his time trial bike in recent weeks and wanted to ride at full intensity.

“I did not immediately feel that I could compete for the victory, although I felt comfortable on the bike,” he said. “When I heard my time at the intermediate point, I knew I had a chance.”

His pacing strategy was simple and painful.

“In a time trial that suits me, I prefer to go all out. I started quickly and then tried to survive towards the finish. That was the right pacing plan.”

The result changed the mood surrounding Van der Poel’s Tour de Suisse. He struggled to make an impact during the opening two days, when the high temperatures affected him more than expected. His legs began to respond on Friday, when he finished fifth in Bad Ragaz, but the time trial offered the clearest evidence that his form is returning at the right moment.

“I knew I was in good shape,” Van der Poel said. “The numbers from the training camp showed that as well. I have done a lot of heat training, but I still suffered from the temperatures here.”

Heat has long been one of his weaknesses. Since last year, Van der Poel has added specific sessions to his preparation, riding indoors for around 40 minutes while wearing several layers of clothing.

“It is absolute hell,” he said. “Mentally, it is very difficult to make yourself do it.”

He aims to complete at least one heat session each week, although combining them with his normal training workload is demanding.

“It puts a lot of strain on you, but I do notice that it has helped me.”

The additional time trial work has a clear purpose. The Tour de France begins in Barcelona on July 4 with a team time trial, although the riders will receive individual finishing times. Alpecin-Premier Tech plans to support Van der Poel for as long as possible before allowing him to complete the final section alone.

The ambition is to keep him close enough in the general classification to challenge for the yellow jersey on stage two, which also finishes in Barcelona and appears well suited to his qualities.

“Maybe we can surprise people as a team,” Van der Poel said.

The team has already invested considerable time in preparing for the opening stage. Van der Poel also revealed that he switched bikes again on Saturday morning, despite training on a different model for a month. He was particularly positive about his new helmet, which he described as a significant improvement.

Van der Poel will remain at home in Belgium after the Tour de Suisse before travelling to Barcelona on July 1. He leaves Switzerland without the victory he came so close to earning, but with renewed confidence that his Tour form is arriving on schedule.

Four hundredths of a second denied him history. They also showed just how ready he might be.