Mathieu van der Poel will not line up for Sunday’s ‘cross World Cup race in Benidorm. It was always a maybe, but it seemed like he may actually end up riding it. When the Alpecin–Premier Tech rider mapped out his winter programme back in November, it was a question mark. At the time, the reigning world champion explained that his choice would depend on how his training was going.
“We will decide based on whether I need an extra ‘cross race during my training camp in Spain or prefer road training,” Van der Poel said two weeks ago, leaving the door open on a possible start, according to Het Laaste Nieuws. But alas, he is opting to keep training on the road.
Van der Poel has now been training in Spain for around ten days, logging heavy road miles with teammates like Jasper Philipsen and Jonas Rickaert. Earlier this week, the lads had a brutal 220-km ride with 3,200 m of climbing. They managed to do it at an average speed over 35 km/h, too!
Anyway, his team has since confirmed that Benidorm will be skipped. Van der Poel himself explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“Because I really need the endurance training, which I had to miss last month with that crossing, in anticipation of the classic spring on the road,” he said. “So a lot of hours are right, with the necessary breaks here and there in between. See you in Maasmechelen, guys!”
Despite his absence this weekend, Van der Poel still tops the World Cup standings. He has won all five rounds he has contested so far, giving him 200 points. Thibau Nys sits second, ten points back, with Michael Vanthourenhout a further three points behind in third.
With the Alpecin – Premier Tech rider not racing, the door is open for a change at the top of the standings on Sunday. Looking ahead to the final two rounds in Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide—both races Van der Poel is expected to start and where he will be the clear favourite—Nys and Vanthourenhout know they need a big result in Benidorm to keep overall hopes alive.
Two Canadians will be mixing it up in the elite men’s race: Cameron Jette and Cody Scott. In the under-23 men’s race, Rhett Bates will be there. Although there are also junior men’s and women’s races none of the Canadians will be there. Btw, the kids are alright–they have been having some exceptional results lately.
Almost all of the usual suspects will go for it on the elite women’s side, however. Lucinda Brand, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado, Inge van der…
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