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"I'm not too worried about team interests coming into play" - Dutch national coach confident Van der Poel can put aside friendship with Philipsen in battle for Rainbow Jersey
CyclingWednesday, 02 August 2023 at 21:51
With the men's elite road race at the Glasgow World Championships now just a matter of days away, the coach of the Dutch national team, Koos Moerenhout is confident the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Dylan van Baarle can put aside their alliances with the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Wout van Aert.
Boasting the aforementioned van Aert and Philipsen, alongside the reigning world champion, Remco Evenepoel, Belgium are potentially the biggest challenge for the Netherlands as Moerenhout is more than willing to admit in conversation with Wielerflits. "They have three strong spearheads, but also a number of other riders who can also be promising in a certain race situation," he explains. "You can definitely call them the team to beat. That doesn't mean we don't have a chance."
The close personal bonds between a number of Belgian and Dutch riders has been a hot topic of discussion in Belgium after Philipsen said during the Tour de France that he would not willingly chase down his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate van der Poel at the World Championships, despite them being on opposing sides in Glasgow.
"I'm not too worried about team interests coming into play. I am convinced that both will race full for their country," maintains the Dutch coach. "Mathieu is also working alone to win the world title with the Netherlands. I don't think brand interests get in the way. Of course you can come up with and draw up scenarios in advance. However, I leave that for what it is.”
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