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Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> is still suffering the hangover of a brutal bout of pneumonia<\/a> that knocked him out of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n But that small fact won\u2019t stop him from racing,<\/p>\n MVDP returned to the peloton Sunday at the exhibition criterium in Etten-Leur ahead of his full competitive comeback with Alpecin-Deceuninck on Wednesday at the Belgo-Dutch Renewi Tour.<\/p>\n It could be a tough week in the Low Countries for the 30-year-old, who revealed to reporters Sunday he\u2019s not yet 100 percent.<\/p>\n \u201cThings are going reasonably well, but I don\u2019t know my form,\u201d he told IDL Pro Cycling<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve still been struggling with the illness, but things are starting to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n Van der Poel abandoned the Tour last month after a typically bombastic opening block of stage wins, yellow jerseys, and a vomit-provoking long-range attack<\/a> with teammate Jonas Rickaert.<\/p>\n Things took a dramatic and rapid turn for the worse on the second rest day.<\/p>\n \u201cI suffered in bed all afternoon, to the point I really couldn\u2019t take it anymore,\u201d Van der Poel told the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad<\/a>. \u201cThat evening, we decided to go to the hospital. That\u2019s when it turned out it wasn\u2019t good.<\/p>\n \u201cI had some serious blisters behind my lungs. It\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve felt that bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was just a common cold and that I was only a little bit ill, so I hoped to feel a bit better after the rest day. But it just kept getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Van der Poel called it quits the morning the peloton rolled toward Mont Ventoux.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been spluttering and sweating ever since.<\/p>\n MVDP returns! Stage and overall winner in 2020, and a fan favourite wherever he races. @mathieuvdpoel<\/a> will be at the start of the Renewi Tour 2025. Get ready to see him in action again from next week! #RenewiTour<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mfsFLMkCWw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Renewi Tour (@RenewiTour) August 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Van der Poel still planning MTB push<\/p>\n Van der Poel will drag his devastated lungs through five days of classics-style racing in Renewi in the hopes of rebooting his legs for an audacious late-summer smash on the mountain bike.<\/p>\n The all-terrain ace reconfirmed this weekend that the road worlds in Kigali are a long way off his agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s MTB or bust for MVDP next month.<\/p>\n Van der Poel said he\u2019s hoping to use the Les Gets round of the UCI World Cup at the end of August as a final tune-up for the cross country worlds in Switzerland.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world championships are still the goal,\u201d he told IDL. \u201cBut first I want to see how it goes in the Renewi Tour first and then Les Gets.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Renewi Tour is there for me to regain race rhythm for the mountain bike,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n