‘I have the feeling he’s had enough of training’ – Mathieu van der Poel raring to make competitive cyclocross return at Namur World Cup

Mathieu van der Poel has “had enough of training” and is raring to get back to competition this cyclocross season, according to his Alpecin-Deceuninck manager Christoph Roodhooft.

The Dutchman hasn’t yet raced this winter after a spell of training in Spain. However, he will begin a possible 13-race campaign soon with an appearance at the fourth round of the UCI World Cup in Namur, Belgium.

“I have the feeling he’s had enough of training. He’s ready to come to Belgium and compete,” Roodhooft told Sporza in an interview at his team’s announcement of a new three-year title sponsorship deal with Premier Tech on Friday.

“As things stand now, we can be almost certain that Mathieu will be at the start in Namur. Mathieu is fine and has trained well.”

Van der Poel began his ‘cross season the day after Namur last season, and an appearance at this year’s race will mark his first there since he bested Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock in a thrilling battle back in December 2020.

Roodhooft revealed that Van der Poel, the reigning cyclocross world champion, hasn’t yet had any time on his ‘cross bike, having so far limited his training to the road bike in Spain alongside longtime training partner Freddy Ovett.

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The 30-year-old and his team will follow a similar path to his biggest goal of the winter – the Cyclocross World Championships in the Dutch town of Hulst – as he has in previous seasons, with the late return to the ‘cross bike being part of that.

“He hasn’t ridden his cyclocross bike yet. That will probably be sometime next week,” Roodhooft said. “It’s a build-up we’ve always been doing in recent years towards the World Championships.”

Roodhooft also revealed that his star rider had suffered from pneumonia following his withdrawal from the Tour de France. The illness was responsible for his extended break from the bike after his racing season, which concluded with second place overall at the Renewi Tour in August.

“I heard Mathieu complain afterwards that he wasn’t his old self,” Roodhooft said. “That’s why he took a break after the season and slowly started to build up his fitness again. Only when Mathieu is ready will he race in Namur.”