Mathieu van der Poel questions cyclocross campaign after slow start to road season

Mathieu van der Poel has said that an ideal winter in the lead-up to the road season would be "one without cyclocross".

The Dutchman, reigning cyclocross world champion, made the comments ahead of Sunday's final stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, where he would go on to lead out Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen to victory for the second time in the race.

At this early juncture in the spring season, Van der Poel hasn't yet been fully up to speed, though, having not contested for victories at Tirreno or at Strade Bianche.

He told assembled media in San Benedetto del Tronto, including AD, Sporza, and VTM, that he had hoped for more from the week.

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"I had hoped to be a bit better," Van der Poel said. "The cyclocross world title was something unique but I only had a short rest after the Worlds and then went to training camp for two weeks in Spain, not enough to be in top form.

"It's very difficult to make choices, but nothing is lost yet either. If [my form] comes in Milan-San Remo next week everyone will say it was the right approach. It's always like that."

Van der Poel will return to La Classicissima on Saturday with hopes of taking the win which has eluded him so far in his career. The 28-year-old took third place in San Remo last spring after Matej Mohorič escaped to victory on the Poggio descent, while previous participations in 2020 and 2021 have seen him finish 15th and fifth.

"I don't think I can do very much with extra training this week," he said, looking ahead to the 294km race. "The main thing for me is to recover well from Tirreno-Adriatico. And if there's one race where you don't have to be the best to still win, it's Milan-San Remo."

As for his season so far, which saw him off the pace on his season debut at Strade Bianche, finishing 15th at 1:46 down on solo winner Tom Pidcock, Van der Poel said that his season start has been complicated by his cyclocross campaign.

After a winter ruined by back problems last year, during this 'cross season Van der Poel took on 15 races from late November to early February, taking seven wins including a dramatic World Championships triumph against Wout van Aert in Hoogerheide.

"Last year, of course, it was because of my back," Van der Poel said, referring to his late start to the 2022 road campaign.

"But when I don't do cyclocross I have a good build-up [for the road season]. That's the problem – it's so busy. I didn't want to miss the Worlds in Hoogerheide for all the money in the world. But if I had to map out the perfect winter now, it would be one without cyclocross."