"I really need the endurance training I missed" - Mathieu van der Poel prioritizes training but returns in time for cyclocross world championships

Mathieu van der Poel is currently training on the Spanish coast and close to where the Benidorm World Cup will take place this Sunday, so for many, it would come as a surprise that he will be absent. However, the cyclocross World Champion has explained that he is currently putting in the miles to compensate for the lack of endurance training he's been having.

Van der Poel began his cyclocross season on the 14th of December in Namur, and has been on a winning streak ever since. However, his training schedule has consisted of shorter and more explosive rides, focused on the demands of cyclocross. Whilst that fares well for the time being, he continues to have the spring classics as the main priority.

Hence, after his victory in the Zonhoven World Cup, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider has returned to Spain for a training camp together with several of his teammates. He has decided not to race in Benidorm, so as to prioritize a block of longer training, which he will need for the spring classics later on.

These races will last over six hours in some cases, and a key part of the Dutchman's preparation is to be able to perform at his best after that much time on the bike. Cyclocross took a back seat momentarily. "We'll decide based on whether I need additional cyclocross stimulation during my training camp in Spain or whether I prefer road training," van der Poel said to Het Laatste Nieuws.

"Because I really need the endurance training I missed last month with all that cyclocross racing, now that I'm looking forward to the spring road classics. So, it's a lot of hours, with the necessary rest breaks here and there. See you in Maasmechelen, guys!"

Although van der Poel has wildly succeeded over the past few years, and won the three spring monuments that are well suited to him on multiple occasions each, he continues to have them as an objective and this spring he will once again face the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Mads Pedersen and Wout van Aert who will be going all-out to challenge him once again.