"It's not pleasant, but it's very effective": Van der Poel's coach explains the new training that the current yellow jersey has been following

Mathieu van der Poel has started the 2025 Tour de France with a display of strength and determination that has surprised even the most optimistic within his circle. After his victory in the second stage, his coach Kristof De Kegel revealed one of the pillars of this outstanding preparation: heat training, a strategy increasingly used in elite cycling.

Van der Poel's secret behind his great form in the Tour

Despite a fall in MTB weeks before the Tour that caused a small fracture in his wrist, the Dutchman has reached a physical form that, according to his sports directors Christophe and Philip Roodhooft, is "better than in previous editions of the Tour". De Kegel agrees: "Heat Training has played an important role in this performance. It not only serves to compete in heat, but also improves the athlete in general terms."

The sessions have been carried out under extreme conditions: indoor rollers, with thermal suits that limit heat dissipation and, sometimes, even with a hood. "It's not pleasant, but it's very effective", comments the physical trainer. These sessions generated physiological adaptations in Van der Poel that partly explain his impressive performance at the start of the Grande Boucle.

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Heat training is a technique that seeks to provoke physiological adaptations through controlled exposure to high temperatures, either with active exercise or passive exposure (such as saunas). It has been shown that this type of preparation:

• Increases hemoglobin mass by 2.4% to 5%, improving oxygen transport capacity.
• Expands plasma volume up to 6% in just ten days, optimizing thermal regulation and resistance to fatigue.
• Improves performance in temperate environments, increasing power by up to 4.9% and favoring pedaling economy.
• Reduces physiological stress in prolonged efforts, key to maintaining efficiency in long and hot stages.

These improvements are comparable, in certain aspects, to altitude training, although with different mechanisms: while altitude stimulates erythropoietin due to hypoxia, heat induces plasma expansion that also activates red blood cell production.

The Van der Poel method

According to De Kegel, the Dutchman "only followed 50% of what we asked of him, but when it comes to Mathieu, that's already a lot". And it's because Van der Poel is known for his instinctive and competitive approach. Still, he managed to complete an effective heat training block, complemented by a solid participation in the Critérium du Dauphiné. "He also progressed a lot there, although we believe he could have done even better," acknowledges his coach with a laugh.