📸 Excitement is building: what are Van der Poel's (cyclo-cross) plans? Roodhooft has news

Van der Poel has been thoroughly enjoying himself in recent weeks. After his world title in gravel racing, he did participate in a criterium in Spain, but other than that, we saw him winning a duel against a rally car, running a half marathon in Denia, and pushing his brother David to his limits under the Spanish sun.

So the bike has never been far away, but cyclo-cross doesn’t seem to be on the agenda for a while just yet. Together with his buddy Freddy Ovett, he is fully enjoying the glorious weather around Calpe. The training duo cycled over eighty kilometers on Spanish roads on Monday – while basking in the sunshine. Enviable images compared to the chilly autumn days you and I might be experiencing.

"Weather – unbelievable," Ovett says, seemingly quoting Van der Poel. And indeed, with temperatures around twenty degrees and sunny skies, the weather around Calpe is perfect. Training in the south still seems much more appealing to Matje than the cold, muddy fields of Belgium. And who can blame the former world champion?

So, while a return to cyclo-cross for Van der Poel seems to be a long way off, there may soon be news about his plans. Sporza asked the manager of Alpecin-Deceuninck Christoph Roodhooft during the Exact Cross of Kortrijk when there will be more known about Van der Poel's plans, and he answered this: "Let's say next week. So, from November 25 to December 1, the decisive answer to whether Van der Poel will race should follow.