Danny van Poppel stuns favourites to win Dutch road title

Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) won the Dutch National Championships with a fine sprint finish on Saturday afternoon in Ede. The 31-year-old was able to come past Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike), who launched his sprint early, to narrowly take the victory in a photo finish with defending champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), rounding out the podium. Van Poppel was brimming with joy after the finish. 

"I never thought this would happen," said the Red-Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider in a post-race interview with NOS. "They often say that when you become a father, you fly, and that's true," he added.

Van Poppel used his experiences from the Tour of Hungary, where he managed to win two stages, beating his compatriot Groenewegen on both occasions, in order to help him defeat both the Jayco AlUla rider and Kooij, who were the standout favourites for the Dutch championships. 

"I was on Olav's wheel and after Hungary, I learned to stay calm, and I did that again now," van Poppel said.

Despite not being the favourite for victory, and often racing as a key lead-out rider, the 31-year-old was confident that he could pull off this impressive result. "I came here to win; otherwise, I wouldn't participate. You see, you just need to have self-confidence."

Van Poppel hadn't appeared at the Dutch Championships since 2021, and found motivation to return to the race, which has paid off significantly. "It's unreal, I haven't taken part in four years and I thought: I'll give it another go," he said.

After coming close before to success, with 2nd in 2018, and 3rd in 2015, the victory feels even sweeter. "I had to make up for something, and I did."

The new Dutch champion is now set to line up for the Tour de France, which begins on July 5 in Lille, with the opening stage presenting an opportunity for the sprinters. With the team expected to work for Jordi Meeus in the sprints, van Poppel was asked if this success may give him an opportunity or two come July. "Tell that to Ralph [Denk]", he joked.