Bad weather in Spain, a spot open, and an intense desire: why Mathieu van der Poel is suddenly showing up a week early

There was a bit of a shock in the cycling world when Mathieu van der Poel suddenly announced a day in advance that he would participate in Le Samyn. This means that the leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck will start his road season in Belgium and not in Italy as planned. What could be the reason behind this decision? Team manager Christoph Roodhooft explains why the former world champion will start on the road as early as Tuesday.

It seems like a surprising turn of events, but it's not that crazy. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "Mathieu was originally supposed to train in Spain this week," Roodhooft told Het Nieuwsblad. He planned to prepare for the Tirreno-Adriatico there, where he was scheduled to start on Monday of next week. "But there is terrible weather in that region right now. Staying there any longer made hardly any sense. What's more, Lars Boven dropped out last Thursday. He was scheduled for Le Samyn, which left a spot open. Finally, Mathieu had already indicated keenness to ride a race. That's how Le Samyn became a possibility. And why not?"

Why not indeed? That sounds like Van der Poel. He likes to race freely and do as he pleases. His tight schedule could have been changed even more because, in the winter, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne were in the picture as opening races. "Three months ago, we briefly considered letting him ride the opening weekend," his team boss admits.

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He almost did the Omloop, but: "Le Samyn is somewhat less sensational"

"But we skipped that weekend. It would have left even less time between the World Cyclo-cross Championships and his road season start, and we wanted to give him a few days of vacation after the World Cyclo-cross Championships," the 51-year-old Belgian explains. "It was already a close call. The day after his vacation, Mathieu immediately left for altitude training. He hasn't been home for almost a month. That is also the advantage of Le Samyn: he can spend a few days at home. He was looking forward to that."

Moreover, the impact of Le Samyn will be somewhat less intense, although the classic king will never really be able to experience that, given his status. However, participating in the Omloop would have been different. "That would have been a much bigger change. Le Samyn is less earth-shattering. It is a clean race with a strong finish. It should not be too difficult for Mathieu to ride that final in a fun way. He has ridden it in the past, by the way, and he liked it."

Will Van der Poel immediately go for the win around the Walloon city of Mons? That remains to be seen for Roodhooft. His pupil is good, but a first race remains a bit of a guess. "He won't have the condition he will have in three weeks. But he is fine, yes. That is why he indicated that he could perhaps add a race. He is looking forward to it."

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