Mathieu van der Poel criticises increase in Tour de France team numbers

Mathieu van der Poel kicked back against the increase in the size of the Tour de France peloton in his pre-race press conference on Thursday evening.

“This doesn’t change a lot. In the end, it’s always a bunch sprint, whether you add new features or not,” the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider replied when asked whether tension on the narrow, winding roads of the opening week could make the race more dangerous.

“Most of the time, it’s the riders’ behaviour that causes risk, which is normal because everyone’s fighting for the same position and there’s not enough space. To really change things, the biggest impact would come from reducing the number of teams and riders. Making the bunch even bigger is a mistake. Less teams and less riders would make it safer.”

His comments come after the UCI introduced regulations allowing more teams on the start line for grand tours, including the Tour de France, in recent years. This year’s race will see 23 teams and 184 riders take the start in Lille on Saturday, whereas the 2024 edition only had 22 teams and eight fewer starters.

The number of riders at the world’s biggest race has fluctuated over the years. As recently as 2017, teams were permitted nine riders in their teams, meaning 198 men took to the start. However, the number of riders in each team was reduced thereafter, partly to increase safety.

The Dutchman’s response comes on the same day the UCI revealed findings from incident analysis by its independent SafeR body, which has been examining ways to increase rider safety. The report asserted rider error was the biggest contributing factor in incidents, amounting to 29% of the total.

One of the out-and-out superstars of the sport, and also one of the most versatile, Van der Poel also admitted there is no plan for him to target the points classification and the sprint finishes in the opening week. That privilege goes to his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate, Jasper Philipsen.

“It’s not a goal at the moment. I’d have to do the bunch sprints for that — and we have a clear goal there with Jasper. I don’t know how the Tour will unfold. But no, I didn’t start this Tour aiming for the green jersey,” Van der Poel stated.

The change to the race’s traditional final stage circuit around the Champs Élysées has caused consternation in some quarters, but, as one able to benefit, Van der Poel was non-committal about the inclusion of the Montmartre climb used in last year’s Olympic road race.

“It brings more stress, a big bunch will go to Montmartre,” he said. “At the Olympics, it was a really small group. We’ll see what happens. I don’t think it’s bad for us, but I can understand why other riders aren’t big fans of the change.”

The Tour de France kicks off on Saturday, with the opening stage covering 184.9km starting and finishing in Lille Métropole in the far north east of the country.