{"id":637104,"date":"2025-12-17T01:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/637104\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T01:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T01:03:12","slug":"i-was-a-bit-done-with-it-danny-van-poppel-steps-away-from-lead-out-role-as-red-bull-bora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/637104\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI was a bit done with it\u201d &#8211; Danny van Poppel steps away from lead out role as Red Bull &#8211; BORA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe team asked me whether it was an option to start sprinting again myself. My victory at the Dutch Championships helped to speed up that decision. I want to show that red white blue jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A selective sprint role rather than full time lead out<\/p>\n<p>Van Poppel is clear that his return to sprinting does not mean blindly contesting every fast finish. Instead, his approach will be selective, based on realistic chances against the very best.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, 2026 is a bridging year. There are four or five world class sprinters, so to speak. If I really feel that someone is that much faster than me, then we go for it. Otherwise, not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That shift has also reshaped his racing programme. While he will ride the Tour Down Under with a full sprint train, his season will then pivot towards the Spring Classics and ultimately the Giro d Italia, which he has identified as his main objective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be able to go for my own chances in the flat stages. That\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"280\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/dannyvanpoppel-669f9c6abeb83.jpg@webp.webp\" class=\"w-auto h-auto\" alt=\"Danny van Poppel in action at the Tour de France\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Will Van Poppel&#8217;s switch back from leadout to sprinter pay off?<\/p>\n<p>Tour de France sacrifice underlines change in status<\/p>\n<p>The new role comes with a significant trade off. For the first time since 2021, Van Poppel will not ride the Tour de France, having previously been used as a key positioner for Primoz Roglic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt might sound a bit strange to say, but honestly, I\u2019d rather go to the Tour with a top sprinter and then win stages,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhen working for a GC team, I sometimes rode stages with pain in my heart, knowing I had to let myself drop in the final kilometres.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite acknowledging that missing the Tour hurts, Van Poppel sees clarity in his new status. \u201cI\u2019m a sprinter again now, not a helper for a team leader.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Backed by team investment and belief<\/p>\n<p>Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe have reinforced that commitment by investing in sprint support, something Van Poppel views as a clear signal of trust.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe team has also invested in the sprint train, which shows confidence. I\u2019ve decided to go all in. I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Van Poppel will now build towards the Giro d&#8217;Italia via altitude training, carrying the Dutch champion\u2019s jersey into a Grand Tour he believes can deliver results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll give it my all, we\u2019re going for it. Without pressure. I believe I can win there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; \u201cThe team asked me whether it was an option to start sprinting again myself. My victory at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,89120,42460,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-637104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-danny-van-poppel","10":"tag-red-bull-bora-hansgrohe","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115732218822300579","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}