For an insider report on defending World Champion Mathieu van der Poel’s final build-up for this Sunday’s road race, you could hardly do better than go to Alpecin-Deceuninck team manager Christoph Roodhoft.
Roodhoft was present in the team car during Van der Poel’s final pre-Worlds race, the Tour de Luxembourg, which the squad’s Netherlands star opened up with a victory on stage 1 and held the lead for several days before finally dropping to second overall behind Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious).
In an interview with Wielerflits, Roodhoft insisted that the 29-year-old World Champion and dominator of the cobbled Classics this spring was ready to defend his rainbow jersey on Sunday’s ultra-difficult course.
“This is the best Mathieu van de Poel possible,” Roodhoft told the website. “I don’t need to go into much more detail about that. Everyone knows his capabilities.”
Luxembourg was a tough race for Alpecin-Deceuninck after multiple support riders for Van der Poel got sick and had to abandon on stage 1, and he was notably isolated on stage 3 when Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) powered away on the final climb for both a lone victory and the leader’s jersey.
Van der Poel bounced back with a vengeance in the following day’s time trial reclaiming the top spot overall. However, Tiberi then put in a late attack on the last, very hilly, stage and in the process successfully pushed the Dutchman, isolated once again, back down into a definitive second place on GC.
“Mathieu’s race was perfectly fine”, Roodhoft said. “Those illnesses, we couldn’t change that. Of course that wasn’t fun. If his teammates Søren [Kragha Andersen] and Jimmy [Janssens] had been there we would probably have been strong enough to consolidate Mathieu’s lead in that final stage.”
“Instead young [teammate] Jente Michels had to do something” – defend Van der Poel’s lead in a major race with virtually no other experienced team workers by his side – “he’s not used to doing, and without any guidance.”
Despite his last-minute defeat, Van der Poel nonetheless performed well on an individual level, Roodhoft said, and seeing how he could use his powerful acceleration in hilly terrain to go for a sprint win on stage 1 was added encouragement for Sunday as well.
“That was of course pleasant. It had also been a while since he had won. But to say that he really needed that win: no, not at all.”
Next stop, Zurich
Roodhoft is adamant that Van der Poel will be able to handle the ultra-hilly circuit in Zurich, but added, “The big question is just how well he can handle it at this point in the season, with the opponents he has in the area.”
Van der Poel has lost weight, too, as part of his World’s build-up but Roodhoft was less forthcoming about exactly how much.
“He is a bit sharper than he normally is in the spring, that is true. Is that so strange? It is part of the attempt to approach this very special one-day race, which is what a World Championship is, in top condition.
“[But] as I said: the course is one thing, but the opposition is the biggest factor. Everything has to fall into place for Mathieu, but that also applies to his competitors. I can only say that Mathieu is fine.”
Roodhoft is clearly feeling fully confident about the Netherlands leader, whose blazing attack at 22 kilometres to go in the streets of Glasgow in last year’s World Championships remains etched in the minds of many cycling fans.
“A less good day from the others might also be enough,” Roodhoft told Wielerflits regarding the chances that Van der Poel will take a repeat rainbow jersey.
“Look, we have done everything we can to get Mathieu as good as possible for Sunday. We can’t do more. And yes, then a super day is a possibility. I am just as curious as you to see how far he can get on Sunday.”
Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the 2024 UCI Road World Championships – including breaking news and analysis reported by our journalists on the ground from the junior, under-23, and elite time trials and road races as it happens and more. Find out more.
