Mathieu van der Poel back on the bike and eyeing World championships: "I do hope that I am the best version of myself again in Australia"

Mathieu van der Poel abandoned the Tour de France with a disappointing performance, but after some recovery he's now back on the bike and looking to build up on the final part of his road season.

“I'm not going to ride the European Championship anyway..." he shared in conversation with NOS. "The World championship is something I will make a goal of. I also hope to show something before that, but I do hope that I am the best version of myself again in Australia," van der Poel admitted.

Currently, the Dutch rider is racing a sequence of post-Tour de France criteriums where he's looking to build his form. “I view the criteria as a bit of training. It is always going on a technical lap and that is something I can use at the moment," he said. 

His schedule currently is undefined, however he will be looking to build form towards Wollongong, still over month and a half away.