Mathieu van der Poel to build for Tour de France via return to Tour de Suisse for first time since 2021

Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen will both compete in the Tour de Suisse this June as part of their final preparations for the Tour de France, marking a notable shift in their usual race schedules. Philipsen, who typically uses the Baloise Tour of Belgium as his warm-up event, will instead make his debut in the Swiss race. Van der Poel returns to the Tour de Suisse for the first time since 2021, a year in which he won consecutive stages and briefly led the race before illness curtailed his campaign. Van der Poel’s decision to revisit the Tour de Suisse reflects a strategic choice to build form ahead of the Tour de France, where he aims to secure his third stage victory. Philipsen, meanwhile, is looking to add to his impressive tally of nine Tour stage wins and hopes to move past the disappointment of his crash and withdrawal from the previous year’s race. Neither rider has competed since Paris-Roubaix in April, making this Swiss event a crucial step in their race readiness. The 2026 edition of the Tour de Suisse promises a highly competitive field, featuring prominent names such as Tadej Pogačar, Tom Pidcock, Arnaud De Lie, and Primož Roglič. The presence of these elite riders sets the stage for a challenging race that will test van der Poel and Philipsen as they fine-tune their form. Both riders’ participation underscores Alpecin-Premier Tech’s commitment to a robust lead-up programme for the Tour de France. This strategic adjustment in race planning highlights the evolving approaches top riders take in managing their season peaks. With the Tour de Suisse serving as a key preparatory event, the performances of van der Poel and Philipsen will be closely watched as indicators of their potential impact in July’s Grand Tour. Their results could shape team tactics and ambitions as the Tour de France approaches.