📸 Mathieu van der Poel gives teammates a boost after part 1, now claims big Strava KOM in 'MVDP Classic Round 2'

Mathieu van der Poel missed his last three scheduled cyclo-cross races because of a bruised rib, but it doesn't bother him as much on the road. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck already completed another challenging tour on the Spanish coast on Thursday, where he made some of his training companions seriously suffer. One week later, he was ready for the sequel.

Of course, Van der Poel's regular Australian training buddy, Fredy Ovett, was welcome to join him again. In addition, Van der Poel's former teammate Axel Laurance, who has been wearing the INEOS Grenadiers shirt since January 1, was present, as were teammate Quinten Hermans and Parkhotel Valkenburg rider Luke Verburg.

After just over 5 hours and 37 minutes, Ovett had more than 200 kilometers on the counter, giving his ride the name 'MVDP Classic' on Strava. Laurance even did 222 kilometers and referred to his activity as 'the first edition of the MVDP Classic,' while Verburg talked about a 'legendary edition.'

So we don't have to doubt Van der Poel's form. The Dutch rider will skip the World Cup in Benidorm in favor of the training camp with his team, after which he will return to Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide.

Read more below the Strava upload

Van der Poel makes bike mates suffer in "MVDP Classic Round 2"

So, it seems there is no need to doubt Van der Poel's form. The Dutch rider will skip the World Cup in Benidorm on Sunday, January 19, in favor of the training camp with his team. After that, he will return on the weekends of Maasmechelen (January 25) and Hoogerheide (January 26). A week later, the cyclo-cross World Cup in Liévin is on the program as his main goal.

So Van der Poel still has time to improve his legs, and new evidence came on Wednesday, January 15. 235.76 kilometers this time on the so-called "Alicante Alpecin express," writes Ovett. He was joined by Jonas Rickaert, Quinten Hermans, and Timo Kielich, who were also the cyclo-cross and gravel world champions this time.

Read more below the photo.

Alpecin-Deceuninck rides Strava-KOM, thanks to Van der Poel?

Ovett was on the bike for 6 hours and 35 minutes, suitable for 3,130 altimeters. For Van der Poel, it was 215.6 kilometers and 3,080 altimeters, he reported on his Instagram page. It was a solid ride, judging by the average of 35.5 kilometers per hour, good for 6 hours and 4 minutes on the bike. Things get more impressive when we note a KOM in Ovett's Strava file.

On the 'Marina-Altea' segment (13.65 kilometers, without too many meters of elevation), Rob Stannard's old best time from 2024 was improved by six seconds. It shows how high the average pace was. That trend continued in the 'Vila Calpe (J.M. - Los Potencias btt)' segment, with 32.31 kilometers and 659 meters of elevation: 46.1 kilometers per hour on average, 3.5 minutes faster than Leo Doyle's old best time from 2024...

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