Coach Laurens ten Dam faces dilemma: Van der Poel’s gravel world championship participation uncertain

Exactly one week after the Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, the Gravel World Championship is scheduled to take place in Leuven. Just like the road race edition in that city in 2021, there are hopes for a cycling festival, but will the big stars be present? Wout van Aert has already had to withdraw after his crash in the Vuelta, and Mathieu van der Poel is anything but a certainty, as indicated by Dutch national coach Laurens ten Dam.

Ten Dam, who helped put this branch of cycling on the map in the Netherlands, has been the official national coach for the Dutch gravel championship teams since April 2024. The third edition of the World Championships is scheduled for October 5 and 6, following the victories of Gianni Vermeersch (2022) and Matej Mohorič (2023) in the Italian Veneto in the first two editions.

At the first World Championships, Van der Poel watched his Belgian teammate Gianni Vermeersch win. Afterward, the Dutchman spoke positively about his venture into gravel, but he only competed in the Serenissima Gravel one week later. "I see it as a combination between road racing and cyclocross, so it could become a great discipline in the future. It's nice that you can adopt the same position as on a road bike, which makes it easier than, for example, switching to mountain biking. It was a very beautiful experience," he said at the time.

Last year, Van Aert was the man to watch at the start, but bad luck prevented the Belgian from contending for medals. "It was still a great experience. I would like to return sometime because this is something that suits me. I really enjoyed it, but everything has to go right," he stated afterward. He intended to reinforce those words with participation in Leuven, but, as is known, his crash in the Vuelta set him back.

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The organizers were eagerly hoping for the participation of at least one of the two, but what exactly is Van der Poel's status? Alpecin-Deceuninck recently announced the remaining road races for the Dutch rider, which ends with the World Championships in Switzerland on September 29. This leaves room for a potential Gravel World Championship, but according to national coach Ten Dam, we shouldn't count on it.

"I have a problem: who will be the team leader?" the coach wondered in his podcast Live Slow Ride Fast. "I was in a conversation with Christoph Roodhooft, and I had six Dutch riders in mind. At one point, I didn't even try to bring up Mathieu anymore, because I thought: that's not going to happen. It's a course suited for him, but he's very uncertain," Ten Dam said in the update.

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Ten Dam marks crosses for men and dashes for women for the Gravel World Championship

Several other road stars will also be absent. "Dylan van Baarle is a no. He had a serious crash, and we won't take the risk of him crashing again in his first race after that fall. Then I have Mike Teunissen, a former cyclocross world champion with great endurance, but the points are very important for Intermarché-Wanty. So, he is also uncertain," said Ten Dam, who can still count on the specialized gravel riders in Leuven.

In the women's race, we will definitely see some notable Dutch stars, he adds. "Among the women, there is a lot of enthusiasm. The GOAT, Marianne Vos, will be there. Lorena Wiebes also wants to race, as does Riejanne Markus. Demi Vollering is still uncertain, but if it were up to me, she would definitely start," said Ten Dam. Vollering finished third at the World Championships last year.