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Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel resigned from the Tour de France. Before the 9th stage, he was in third place in the scoring competition and spent six days in a yellow jersey for the leader of the race, but before the following mountain stages he preferred to prepare for the Olympic Games.
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According to the AFP agency, he wants to give priority to his favorite mountain biking in Tokyo. He announced the decision on the Sunday before the start of the stage.
Van der Poel won the yellow jersey in the second stage and kept it until his arrival in the Alps, when he left it to Slovenian Tadejo Pogačar on Saturday.
“I can already consider my performance on the Tour a success so far. I would like to continue to Paris in a similar way as before, but we have to take into account my other goals as well,” Van der Poel was quoted by AFP.
His decision was also supported by his team Alpecin Fenix: “Thank you for a wonderful week and unforgettable moments.”
The 26-year-old Dutchman is the second rider to announce the end of the Tour on Sunday. Before him, one of the aspirants resigned to the overall triumph Primož Roglič, who paid for the injuries from previous falls.
Tour de France 2021 / Stage 10
Celý program Tour de France 2021 —
Author: |Source: TASR
|Photo: Reuters
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