‘The urge to race was simply too great’ – Mathieu van der Poel finally opts to take part in Benidorm World Cup

Just two days after he’d said that he was sacrificing his participation in the Benidorm round of the World Cup on Sunday to focus on endurance training, Mathieu van der Poel has made a dramatic last-minute announcement that he will, in fact, be taking part.

An Alpecin-Premier Tech announcement via social media said that “After a strong week of training, the urge to race was simply too great,” and Van der Poel will be taking part in the sole Spanish race in the World Cup cyclo-cross series.