Mathieu van der Poel praises the Olympic race design: "You have to be on your guard at every moment of the race"

Olympic road race is the main objective of Mathieu van der Poel's season. The world champion's season won't be a failure if things don't go ideally in Paris as his victories at Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are more than enough to make anyone's season a success. However an Olympic medal would be a nice icing on the cake. Even more so after the Mountain Bike race disappointment in Tokyo...

"It's my first Olympic Games on the road. With those small teams, it's also a bit of a wait-and-see situation for me. But it does look like it could be an uncontrolled race. It depends on the legs, but I would say it's an advantage for me. You have to be on your guard at every moment of the race. It could happen suddenly, and then you have to make sure we're there," Mathieu tells WielerFlits.

The world champion's form has been one of the most talked about topics in recent days, but how does he see it himself? "I came out of the Tour fresher, but that doesn't mean I'll have the legs from the World Championships in Glasgow back. Every year is different of course. I've stuck to the preparation for Glasgow. Not exactly the same, but you still keep it in mind."

Mathieu admits that he does not know the course yet. "I have only seen the circuit on images and Veloviewer. That should be enough, I think. Koos is going to do the reconnaissance of the local circuit, then I will have a better view of it."

What is his initial assessment of the route? "It seems tough enough to me, especially with the small teams and the distance it will definitely be tough enough."

Everybody expects the decisive moment to be one of the scenic ascents to Montmartre: "It is possible on Montmartre, but also earlier. Who knows, the race may already have been decided on the climb of Montmartre, it looks like a gruelling race. I am always happy with a hard final, in the classics that works well and I expect the same."