05/09/2022

Mathieu van der Poel leads Netherlands in bid to win World Championshps in Australia

The Netherlands have revealed their lineups for the upcoming World Championships in the men's field, and Mathieu van der Poel will be riding in search of the rainbow stripes in Wollongong with a well-rounded team that will be riding in his support.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has had a difficult time regaining his form after the Tour de France, but has returned to racing at the Druivenkoers - Overijse classic. Although he's not shown his best legs, the Dutchman has had a very busy season with injury recoveries, wins at the Tour des Flandres and the Giro d'Italia and a hefty preparation which proved costly for the Tour. All that could be a blow for his ambitions at the Worlds, but he has prioritized training ahead of it. He'll be racing two Belgian one-day races in the upcoming week as a final step in his preparation for the Australian race.

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He will have the support of last year's runner-up Dylan van Baarle as main support. Wout Poels and Bauke Mollema will be valuable when the riders begin to climb in the final circuit, and the rest of the lineup includes a quartet of rouleurs who will help control the race and mark moves early on in the day: Daan Hoole, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Jan Maas and Taco van der Hoorn.

National team coach Klaas Moerenhout has said that ''making a selection for a world championship in Australia so soon after the Vuelta has been quite a puzzle. But I am convinced that we will travel with a balanced team with which we can stand our ground in the fight for the world title.”

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Netherlands for men's Elite Road Race: Mathieu van der Poel, Dylan van Baarle, Bauke Mollema, Daan Hoole, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Wout Poels, Jan Maas and Taco van der Hoorn.

Netherlands for men's Elite Time-Trial: Bauke Mollema and Daan Hoole.

Netherlands for Mixed Relay: Mathieu van der Poel, Bauke Mollema, Daan Hoole, Ellen van Dijk, Annemiek van Vleuten and Riejanne Markus.