"He has found an incredibly good balance": Mathieu van der Poel could make his season debut at Opening Weekend

After winning another cyclocross world title, Mathieu van der Poel is back on his bike preparing for the spring classics. The Dutch star recently enjoyed a short skiing holiday to recharge his batteries before his road campaign begins. Now, cycling fans and his team managers are eagerly waiting to see if he will line up for the traditional Opening Weekend in Belgium, which is set to take place next week.

Last year, the World Champion chose to skip it, a decision that the team had to accept. "We have already talked about the road," Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss Christoph Roodhooft said in words to Wieler Revue. "Last year he was very clear that he did not want to participate in the Opening Weekend. I thought that was a pity, because the Opening Weekend is important for a Belgian team."

Even though Van der Poel skipped those races, he was clearly in top shape. "A few days later he won Le Samyn with dominance, but in the weekend of Omloop and Kuurne he was already very good too," Roodhooft noted.

When asked about his participation this year, the team manager remained cautious but hopeful. "I think it would be good if he participates, but the first requirement is that starting up again goes smoothly," he explained. "After the World Championship he takes a week of rest and goes skiing. We let him do that so he stays in balance."

Van der Poel has recently been building his form under the sun in Spain. In modern professional cycling, mental health and managing pressure are major topics. Roodhooft believes his star rider has mastered this aspect of the sport perfectly.

"I think he does many things more correctly than before, and he has few problems sustaining it," Roodhooft stated. "He has found an incredibly good balance. Sport takes a prominent place in it. He is willing to make sacrifices, can hurt himself incredibly during training and has somehow come to embrace that feeling."

Roodhooft credits the rider's personal life and strong support system for this success on the bike. "That balance came entirely from himself in the first place, but his environment and family played a crucial role in that," he concluded. "He has a life that is balanced in all areas. He also radiates that in his sport, because I find it incredible how much calm he maintains."