Worlds – Mathieu van der Poel, the year “without head or tail” before the World Championships in Wollongong

Mathieu van der Poel is not a runner like the others. This is its strength, immense. This is also sometimes its weakness, relative. In this year 2022, the star of Dutch cycling has blown hot and cold, with a Tour of Flanders won for pinnacle and an anonymous Tour de France in a negative climax. He has the opportunity to end this funny exercise on a glorious note, Sunday in Wollongong, during the road race of the Worlds.

Van der Poel prepared this big meeting differently from the men he designates as his main rivals, in the quest for the planetary coronation, namely Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel or even Michael Matthews – like what, he does not not always original. After his frustrating Big Loop, “MVDP” cut, rested in Spain. It made a discreet comeback (35th in the Race of the grapes, August 24) then gained momentum.

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Not yet fullness…already victory

The symbol of this revving up is paradoxical. Definitely. Winner of the Grand Prix de Wallonie last Wednesday, Mathieu van der Poel did not have the legs of his life: “I didn’t feel very, very well. I told Jasper (Philips) that I was going to lead out for him (taking the role of pilot fish, editor’s note).” But Van der Poel went too fast for his teammate (and therefore for everyone), at the top of the Citadel of Namur, ahead of Biniam Girmay.

Enough to make him a potential winner of the “Worlds”, as he assumed ten days before the event: “Yes, I’m one of the favorites“He’s not convinced he’s been disadvantaged by his singular preparation, which led him to consider racing the Primus Classic on Saturday before backing out.”We have no certainty to acclimatize better by going earlier (in Australia)”¸ he argued, as reported by the RTBF. Until the end, it will have been difficult to follow.

Van der Poel, involuntary winner: “I told Jasper that I was going to be his pilot fish…”

“It’s Van der Poel, he can be world champion”

“I didn’t understand anything about his racing program this year. He has never finished a Grand Tour… and he wants to do two (the Tour of Italy, of which he won a stage and wore the pink jersey, and the Tour de France, editor’s note), wonders the former runner Nicolas Fritsch. His season, in terms of preparation and logic, is incomprehensible, without tail or head. So, as Van der Poel, he can be world champion. Anyone else, I’d say ‘no’“. But Van der Poel is not “just anyone”.

His very special 2022 opus began with a 3rd place at Milan-Sanremowhen he started his season by surprise, after having done little cyclo-cross, due to physical glitches. “He had a truncated winter preparation. Make a winter a little light, you miss it“, continues Fritsch. But there was still time for Van der Poel to do in the conventional, in view of the Worlds, with a stage race: “I commented on the Tour of Britain and wondered why he wasn’t there...”

The incredible outcome: Van der Poel still crowned, Pogacar trapped, Madouas on the podium

A course “comparable to the Amstel” and tailored for him

There is only one opportunity left for him to perfect his condition, to build up his confidence and perhaps even bring a medal to the Netherlands: on Wednesday, he is announced at the start of the mixed relay (6:20 a.m.), convinced by the recent winner of the Tour de France, Annemiek van Vleuten. Then it will be gone for 266.9 km, Sunday: “After a while, you know what powers you need to develop to be in the endgame. I’m not afraid of distance, I’ve done this before in many classics.”

The course is cut for Van der Poel. Its urban side could favor the science of the trajectory of the double winner of the Round (2020, 2022), whose characteristics stick to the major difficulty of the event, to be covered twelve times: Mount Pleasant (1.1 km at 7.7 % of average slope, passage at 14%). “It suits him very, very well“, assures Nicolas Fritsch. “It’s comparable to the Amstel Gold Race, maybe a bit more difficult”relates the person concerned, winner of the Amstel in 2019, via the site cycling flash.

Van der Poel winner in 2019, Van Aert in 2021: the Amstel remains on two epic epilogues

“We made some mistakes with the team”

Fritsch is above all admiring, in front of this cyclist “extraordinary“, but he doubts the optimization of his skills: “Van der Poel is a little extraterrestrial, with this completely unique preparation. I think it has limits.” For its part, “MVDP” is “still satisfied with (at) saison” : “I admit that I have not always been on top, in the Tour de France in particular (…) But I also won some great races. Being a top athlete is not a game, you don’t win every time…“

“In racing as in planning, he does what he wants at Alpecinvalued our consultant. It may be his limit, for his genius to shine, I think he will have to be a little more framed… but that’s also what makes us love him.” A criticism to which Mathieu van der Poel abounds in his own way. “We made some mistakes with the team but it allowed us to learn a lot“, he concedes thus, suggesting that he could be even more formidable in the future. Dressed in the rainbow jersey?

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