Perhaps the hardest part will be recognizing that to get the best results on the road you will have to put aside, maybe not permanently, everything elseIt is no coincidence that Mathieu Van der Poel's fantastic spring arrived in the very year in which the Dutchman has reduced the intensity of his commitment in crossingNow the bone to be let go is the mountain bike.
The program, announced by Mathieu after the victory of Sanremo, included in fact participation in two World Cup races: Valkenburg and Nove Mesto. But when the Dutch date was (inexplicably) excluded from the UCI challenge calendar, la Alpecin-Deceuninck and Van der Poel himself felt that it was not worth proceeding with the project, with only the Czech Republic event at stake. Therefore, although the Olympic rematch in Paris 2024 remains at the centre of his thoughts, we will start talking about it again later.
Everyone will remember the bad fall at the last Olympic Games, when Van der Poel failed to take into account that a gangway present in the test had been removed on race day. Falling that day, Besides losing the race, all his back problems began..
Hunting for points
«Both us and Mathieu – declared Christoph Roodhooft, sports director of Alpecin, in a statement – thought it was not appropriate to change everything for just one race. We prefer to let Mathieu prepare properly for the Tour and the World Championships: his biggest goals for next summer. But the ambition of reaching the Games it's still there."
The agreement to skip the World Cup in Nove Mesto also came after the evaluation of the Italian mountain bike coach, Gerben de Knegt. However, Van der Poel's Olympic qualification path is far from risk-free.
The Netherlands currently occupies 30th place in the Olympic ranking, which is calculated based on the points of the three best riders. Countries ranked between first and eighth are entitled to two Olympic athletes; those ranked nine to 19 may field only one. To earn the points needed to qualify, the Netherlands is relying on specialists David Nordemann and Milan Vader of Jumbo Visma. Both have worked hard and will continue to work hard to qualify, and obviously Van der Poel's last-minute arrival could be useful and at the same time provoke discontent.
Two World Cups in 6 days
For this reason it is estimated that for Mathieu the shortest and safest way to Paris 2024 both the mountain bike world championshipIn the gigantic carousel of the next Scottish World Championships, the men's cross country race will be held on August 12th. If Van der Poel finishes first or second, he will snatch the Olympic qualificationThere is no doubt that Mathieu is capable of doing it, the problem for him is that six days before there are the road world championships, which for the Dutchman are an equally important objective on a path that fits him like a glove. Is it possible to perform at your best on two different bikes and in two disciplines that require different preparation, with so little time to adapt? Alpecin-Decenunick are waiting to see if Van der Poel really wants to attempt a double whammy. From their perspective, having raced the Tour and the Road World Championships, the bulk of the summer would be safe and Mathieu could… enjoy himself as he sees fit.
Pidcock's Choice
In reverse, Tom Pidcock's spring isn't over yetAfter second place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, The British rider from Ineos Grenadiers has chosen to start with mountain biking starting next weekend in France.
In particular, On Friday and Sunday Pidcock will race in French Cup to Gueret: first in a short track race and then in cross country. On Sunday, May 7th, however, il Olympic champion ed eclecticism in office he will move to Switzerland, to ChurAt least that's what we learned from Ineos's press release last Tuesday.
Both races are classified as Hors Categorie, so Pidcock could pick up a lot of points right away and get in shape to participate in the World Cup in Nove Mesto from May 12-14, where she won the cross-country race last year. Like Pidcock, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, also of the Ineos Grenadiers team, will compete.
The feeling is that Pidcock at this time enjoys greater freedom than Van der Poel in organizing his Olympic pursuit, which could soon also interest Peter Sagan. The Dutchman is therefore about to resume his training towards the summer. He became a Lamborghini testimonial in Antwerp, from whom he received a Urus S (a €300 SUV, see opening photo) and has set his sights on the Tour de Suisse. Knowing him, however, no one would rule out the possibility of him playing a double card in Glasgow.
