Dutch nine-man strong team overflows with motivation: men around Van der Poel know their role for World Championship

The Netherlands already has one advantage: the presence of reigning world champion Van der Poel allows them to start with nine men, one extra compared to the competition. National coach Moerenhout put together this nine-man squad under the motto, "The best riders don't make the best team." That, for example, Wout Poels will not be there could be explained under this heading: "It's not just about bringing together the eight best riders; you look at who can best fill a certain role."

"We are, of course, going for the highest achievable, although that will not be easy," the coach realizes. "Many countries are eligible for the gold medal, so I look forward to an aggressive race. I have a lot of confidence in this team, which is a mix of experienced and younger riders tailored to the difficulty of the course. I expect a great battle where anything can happen during this course. And we hope for another great result with Mathieu; we will fight for that as a team."

Public opinion has also been pointing more and more towards Van der Poel lately compared to a few weeks ago, which does not surprise Moerenhout. At first, it was purely about Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. Lately, the Dutchman has constantly been popping up between them. "I've always said that," the national coach explained.

So the leader is clear: Mathieu van der Poel. The defending champion has built his entire fall schedule around this World Championship, and if he fails, at least he wants to lose in battle. "He wants to regain his best level from the spring,' team manager Christoph Roodhooft of Alpecin-Deceuninck did not doubt that. He successively won the E3 Saxo Classic, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix in the spring."

Van der Poel had to withdraw before the final stage of the Renewi Tour with a knee injury but had a perfect preparation afterward. In Spain, at the European Championships, and in the Tour of Luxembourg, he gave his all, which also gave him the confidence that things would be possible Sunday on the course with 4,500 altimeters. "I don't think I'm weighing much less for the World Championship, and I always have a bit of the same weight during the season. Maybe it differs one or two kilos, but it won't be more."

The senior rider in the Dutch team is 37-year-old Bauke Mollema, who will start his eleventh World Championship on the road in Switzerland. Mollema never made the top ten in those, but now he wants to prove himself in another way. Within the Dutch Cycling Union, there are high expectations of Mollema, who, after missing the Tour, focused exclusively on this World Championship.

With sixth place in GP Quebec and 18th place in GP Montreal in Canada, he was in good shape, as he did this spring in races such as Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. After the races on the other side of the Atlantic, Mollema spent some time at altitude, where he gave a taste of how much he wanted to show at the World Championships. He trained on the roller while reviewing teammate Van der Poel's World Championship title on his laptop in Isola(tion) 2000. Bauke is ready for it!

Wilco Kelderman also plays an essential role in the World Championships in Zurich. Barnevelder completed the Tours of Poland, Luxembourg, and the Canadian races this fall, and we know he was consistently fine. For Sunday, he is one of the men who needs to ride the final or can be significant by sneaking into a dangerous group.

Kelderman is one of the men you can rely on, and his team, Visma | Lease a Bike, also has high praise. "Wilco is one of the greatest talents I have ever worked with. He just has a very high base level by default. He's always outstanding," sports director Arthur van Dongen told us recently at the Tour of Luxembourg.

Bart Lemmen is the second rider from Visma | Lease a Bike to make the selection for this World Championship. "We try to set the best possible path for the riders to the World Championship, but once they get there, we have little to no influence," team manager Van Dongen indicated in Luxembourg. Lemmen did not make it to the end of the race due to a crash in the time trial.

As a precaution—with an eye on the World Championships—he decided not to start in the final stage. Moerenhout will also find that a wise choice, as he sees Lemmen playing an essential role on Sunday. The former military man is highly regarded for his loyalty. Still, he also showed in Canada and Luxembourg that he can compete with Mollema and Kelderman in the World Championship pre-final.

Frank van den Broek also faces his debut at the World Cup, having made a similar entrance into the pro peloton as Lemmen. The rider from the Bollenstreek region did so impressively, mainly through his performance in the first stage of the Tour de France. After the Tour de France, he competed in the Tour of Denmark, Renewi Tour, and Canadian races. Especially in Quebec, he showed himself by attacking all day.

We probably won't see Van den Broek in the final lap, but he can do his thing in the first passages of the local laps. With his attacking intentions and stamina, he can compete in anticipation and ride up front to close gaps if the situation requires it on Sunday.

Eleven years ago, on Sept. 28, 2013, in Florence, Italy, Van der Poel became junior world champion on the road. Also present there as a skillful helper was Sam Oomen, who may now get ready for his third World Championship on the road. The Brabander will also want to perform again in Zurich without a hidden agenda for his contemporary and cycling friend.

Oomen rode the Vuelta in preparation for this World Championship in Zurich, where he managed to come close to a stage win several times from the early breakaway. In Zurich, he can be seen as the glue between the others, as he can do the necessary work in the middle of the race that the Dutch team and Van der Poel needed at that moment.

The "infiltrator" in the Dutch selection is Bax, the UAE Team Emirates teammate of top favorite Tadej Pogacar. At the end of this season, he will leave that team for employment with Q36.5, where he may go more for his own chances. Therefore, Bax's results tend to give a different picture: he goes better uphill than it seems at first glance.

For example, in the past two years, he has already won tough Italian autumn races such as the Coppa Agostoni and Trofeo Matteotti. So Bax is always good in the autumn, which was also one of the reasons Moerenhout included him in the selection. "In the summer, when it's scorching, I'm often a little less. I am always around a few periods in the year fine and others just a little less," he explained last year.

Positioning is crucial at a World Championship, and then you can send Oscar Riesebeek out for a task. As the only one on the team, he is also typically a teammate of Van der Poel, who could also count on a rock-solid Riesebeek again in the spring. Should Alpecin-Deceuninck be at the front at points like the Oude Kwaremont in the Tour of Flanders, they would be there thanks to Riesebeek.

So, after his recent performance at the European Championships, that will also be his job at the World Championships. Moerenhout and the Dutch team know they can count on Riesebeek, which is an important requirement for making such a selection for a major championship.

One of the regulars in the Dutch championship teams is Daan Hoole, the Lidl-Trek hard rider. He already worked the time trial last Sunday, where he finished seventeenth and was not entirely happy with his performance afterward. For Sunday, he resumes his role, which they at team Lidl-Trek and the KNWU praise: that of loyal helper.

"Those are invaluable guys," Moerenhout indicated when it came to guests like Hoole and Riesebeek. "That may not be seen as much on TV, but even within their team, they are applauded for that. They always ride in service of the team, so then it is logical that you don't see them in the last hour. But you also need them."