Mathieu van der Poel may skip the Tour de France subsequent 12 months to allow him to concentrate on different main summer season objectives, together with successful the mountain bike cross-country world title within the Valais, Switzerland.
The Dutchman has endured three underwhelming editions since making his Tour debut throughout the Covid-hit season in 2021, wherein he took a stage win on the Mûr-de-Bretagne in Brittany and pulled on the yellow jersey.
He has did not match that very same success within the years that adopted however has flourished within the Classics. Van der Poel instructed Biking Weekly at his group’s winter coaching camp in Spain that he’s contemplating skipping the largest street race of the season with the intention to flip his consideration to different accolades which have beforehand eluded him.
The 29-year-old sighed when requested in regards to the Tour subsequent 12 months, suggesting that if it was solely as much as him then his priorities would lie elsewhere within the subsequent twelve months. He additionally hinted that outdoors strain from sponsors would issue into the group’s ultimate determination making. The previous world champion will even skip the street worlds in Kigali, Rwanda as a result of course being tilted in the direction of climbers just like the winner in Zurich, Tadej Pogačar.
“It was additionally the identical this 12 months,” he stated as he made clear that he needed to overlook the Tour. “I wouldn’t thoughts doing one thing else however I additionally perceive that for our sponsors it’s additionally fairly huge for them so we’ll see.
“Anyway I believe with the worlds in Kigali subsequent 12 months it’s potential to vary issues up and go for the mountain biking [world title] as a result of I received’t have the worlds on the street, that isn’t an enormous purpose, so possibly we are able to do one thing like that.”
In any other case, Van der Poel’s season will stay largely unchanged with Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders being the central targets of the spring. The one distinction will likely be that he’ll trip one of many two main early-season stage races beforehand – Paris-Good or Tirreno-Adriatico – with the intention to high-quality tune his type.
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Van der Poel’s victory on the E3 Basic in March marked solely his second look of the season after he completed tenth at Milan-San Remo behind teammate Jasper Philipsen. The Dutchman admitted that spring this 12 months couldn’t have been a lot better however he felt having additional racing miles within the legs, equally to 2023, may assist take him to a different stage as soon as extra.
“This 12 months I’d choose to do Paris-Good or Tirreno-Adriatico first, a type of two I believe,” he stated. “I did that previously. This 12 months it was a bit tough however I’d choose to have some racing within the legs earlier than the Basic races begin.”
The previous world champion has received two consecutive editions of Paris-Roubaix, a race which is near each his and his household’s coronary heart with their wealthy biking heritage. A 3rd would see him be a part of an illustrious membership consisting of Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Roger De Vlaeminck, who’ve all received the Hell of the North on three events.
Van der Poel will at all times tailor his season across the Flemish Holy Week of biking and it appears virtually inevitable {that a} third Roubaix title, to match his three victories in De Ronde, is simply across the nook.
“You simply dream and intention to win it as soon as and when you can accomplish that then that’s tremendous cool in fact,” he stated.
“It might be tremendous good to do it once more, but in addition the Tour of Flanders. These are the 2 I like most and I actually get pleasure from that interval in order that they completely will likely be my fundamental focus once more this 12 months. It’s additionally my huge power so I don’t see why I ought to change that. They’re the races I like most and I am good at them so I’ll attempt to do this once more this 12 months.”