Today is the day of Mathieu Van der Poel's seasonal debutThe initial plan was for him to attach the number to the first time Tirreno-Adriatico, well before last year when he chose Sanremo and perhaps he missed something on the Poggio. The idea of debuting in Le Samyn – 199 kilometres with 8 cotes in the last 100 – was explained at the beginning of the month by Philip Roodhooft, one of the two owners of Alpecin-Deceuninck.
“Fix or change things along the way,” he said. sometimes it is seen as a lack of professionalism, while very often it is the opposite.As long as it is done carefully."
Mathieu showed up at the start smiling and obviously surrounded by cheering and general curiosityThe green jersey of the team and the white bike waiting for show other colors at the Tirreno-Adriatico which should be his next commitment.
An opportunity to be seized
The Belgian Het Nieuwsblad he came back to knock on the Belgian manager's door to get an explanation of the reasons behind this choice.
«Initially – he explained – The plan was for Mathieu to train in Spain this week. But the weather in that area is currently terribly bad, and there was no point in staying much longer. Furthermore, Lars Boven withdrew from the Valenciana on Thursday and would not have been able to participate in Le Samyn, so his spot was free. Van der Poel had already made it known that he would like to take part in a race and so we took the opportunity."
Le Samyn, a clean race
As Roodhooft himself explained two years ago, Mathieu Van der Poel's management is prudent and aimed at maximum protectionThe streamlining of his commitments after the intense three-year period from 2021 to 2023 has not gone unnoticed. And so now the Dutchman is staying away from the excesses of excessive activity, focusing on the quality of his commitments.
«Three months ago – Roodhooft explained – we had thought of running him in the opening weekend here in the North, but we decided not to. It would have had even less space between the cyclo-cross world championships (February 2, ed.) and the road debut and we still wanted to give him a few days off after his world championship victory. The day after the holidays, Mathieu immediately left for the mountains, He hasn't been home for almost a monthThe advantage of running Le Samyn is also this: he can stay at home for a few days. Furthermore, it must be said that the level of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad it would have been too high, while Le Samyn is a clean race, with a challenging finish, which will not be too difficult for him to tackleHe's done it before and always enjoyed it."
Strade Bianche, no thanks
The only time Van der Poel took part in the race, which starts at 13pm from Quaregnon and finishes in Dour around 17,20pm, he earned an unusual photo at the finish line. In fact, he cut it with the handlebars without the gear lever and the failure prevented him from competing in the race.It's difficult to say right now whether the Dutchman will be able to win, although there's no doubt he'll try in some way.
«His conditions are obviously still improving – explains Roodhooft – but he's not yet in the shape he'll be in three weeksBut he's doing well, and that's why he was the first to say he feels ready to race. He wants to do it, and I sensed he's very involved. Despite this, I want to say that Le Samyn is the only change to his calendar. Mathieu will not participate in the Strade Bianche on Saturday».
Just as Pogacar shouldn't participate in Paris-Roubaix. The beauty of these great champions is that when they recognize the spring air and feel the right strength in their legs, they still have the power to impose their will on the team's plansIf Van der Poel doesn't race in Siena, it's because he might not have the legs to keep up with Pogacar.
