Following a well-deserved break, the world champion will begin his cyclocross season in December. After winning the Madrid criterium on Sunday, the reigning world champion both on the road and cyclocross spoke in a Q&A session with Alberto Contador, where he shared additional insights into his upcoming CX calendar.
During the winter season, Mathieu van der Poel will stay mostly in Spain, where he will recuperate from an intense year of road racing and work on his form for a brief return to cyclocross.
🏆 Winner of @MadridCriterium: @mathieuvdpoel #alpecindeceuninck pic.twitter.com/6igWnOcKXd
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) October 29, 2023
While specific details about which races weren’t yet unveiled, he indicated that his schedule would follow a similar pattern to the previous season.
Van der Poel is likely to make his cyclocross return “towards the end of December,” with the goal of participating in “10 to 15 cyclocross races” before finishing up his cyclocross winter campaign at the world championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, at the start of February, according to a report from Sporza.
In Tabor, Van der Poel will defend his rainbow jersey, a title he now possesses in both the road and cyclocross disciplines.
“I can’t wait to ride the spring classics in that jersey,” Van der Poel said, who also reflected on winning the five monuments.
“I don’t rule out Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but it’s going to be difficult. Same with Il Lombardia, which really is a race for climbers,” He said. “I mainly want to focus on the races that are achievable. The Vuelta is an option for 2024”.
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