Mathieu van der Poel gave Tour director Christian Prudhomme his best race moment

Next summer, we will see Mathieu van der Poel once again in the Tour de France, and race director Christian Prudhomme is very pleased about that. He has great admiration for the 31-year-old Dutchman from Alpecin-Premier Tech. Prudhomme shares this in a major feature in Wielerflits Magazine, in which Raymond Poulidor is compared with his grandson.

Poulidor was the reason Prudhomme fell in love with cycling. First as a journalist, and now as the race director of the biggest race on the planet. In his office hangs a large painting of Poulidor. So he was one of the perfect people to make the comparison between grandfather and grandson. The story also features José De Cauwer (longtime sports director for Adrie van der Poel) and Corinne Poulidor (Raymond’s daughter, Mathieu’s mother).

"Mathieu is the champion he is thanks to his grandfather, his father, his mother… but above all thanks to himself," Prudhomme believes. "Of course, he is inseparably linked to his father and grandfather. When Mathieu came to Paris-Nice, a mural of his grandfather was unveiled at the start in Yvelines. A whole apartment block wall with Raymond’s face. Mathieu stood in front of it and took a selfie. I don’t immediately see his grandfather then, but I see the champion Mathieu van der Poel.”

During his career as race director, Prudhomme crossed paths with Poulidor for many years, who was always present in the Tour as an ambassador for Credit Lyonnais - always dressed in yellow. In recent years, he has also gotten to know Van der Poel up close. The classics specialist has won Paris-Roubaix three times and has taken two stage wins in the Tour de France since 2021. He also wore the yellow jersey for several days. Prudhomme’s most memorable moment with Van der Poel was Paris-Roubaix 2024.

“Mathieu all alone in front in his rainbow jersey and us right behind in the car,” Prudhomme says. “That was a moment of incredible satisfaction, because we were all aware inside the car that we were following a super champion. Mathieu has such an aura on the bike. He is physically so agile, he handles his bike so well – a powerful presence radiates from him. That was a moment of absolute privilege. For me, that was really the strongest moment of admiration for a champion in the car.”