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Mathieu van der Poel had the absolute best one-word answer to a reporter

The Dutchman summed up just how unpredictable cycling can be

Mathieu van Der Poel and teammates Photo by: Sirotti
July 21, 2023
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Mathieu van der Poel may not have won a stage at the Tour de France, but on Friday, he won the Internet. Teams will have game plans before every day Tour, but they don’t always work out. And of course, no rider will announce their strategy before the race as surprises are what make cycling great.

MvdP has been instrumental in the 2023 edition of the Grande Bouncle to current green jersey, Jasper Philipsen. The Dutch rider has given the Belgian some incredible leadouts, even though some were deemed controversial. In the finale of Stage 4, the current CX world champion bumped Biniam Girmay and was relegated. However, the 500 Swiss francs and 13 UCI points fine for deviating from his line must have been worth it as Philipsen took the win.

Philipsen has also been the subject of some controversy. The Alpecin-Deceuninck was accused of blocking Pascal Eenkhoorn from breaking away in the 18th stage.

“I didn’t use an elbow. I just accelerated and got in front of him, so I don’t think I really did a wrong maneuver or did anything inappropriate,” he said to WielerFlits after the race. “I think I just wanted to make it clear that we wanted to sprint and that we were fine with those three at the front.”

Before Stage 19, which ended up in a small break which saw Matej Mohorič take the win, MvdP was asked what would happen during the race. Whatever his team’s game plan was, he definitely wasn’t going to share it. Check out his hilarious response below. Either that, or he said what everyone in cycling knows, whether pros or spectators. You never know what’s going to happen at the world’s biggest bike race.