In stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Mathieu van der Poel from Alpecin-Deceuninck described the day as one of his hardest ever, displaying intense competition and challenging conditions. The stage, measuring 207 kilometers, saw Van der Poel involved from the beginning, participating in a key breakaway of 13 riders. Despite his efforts and battling recent wrist injury recovery, he couldn't clinch the stage win, finishing fifth as Iván Romeo took victory. Van der Poel acknowledged the importance of such tough races for his form ahead of the Tour de France.
"It was one of the hardest days on the bike I've ever had," said Van der Poel to CyclingProNet. "We have 45 kilometres per hour average, 3000 altitude metres, that says enough, I think."
"Again, I'm super happy with the shape actually, but it's difficult to win in this position as well, everything needs to be 100% correct, and it was a bit of a gamble in the end, but a really nice day out there."
"For the shape, it's important to have hard days like this; it's impossible to recreate them in training, so that's why I'm here."
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