Mathieu van der Poel reveals surprising race as the last preparation ahead of Zurich World Championships

The World Championships take place in the space of a month in Zurich, Switzerland, and all the contenders are busy planning out their training and racing schedules ahead of the race. Mathieu van der Poel for one has confirmed what will be his final race before it: The Tour de Luxembourg.

“I am happy to announce that I will participate in the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg this year," van der Poel said in a video shared by the race. "We’re excited to announce that @mathieuvdpoel will take part on this years Škoda Tour. Don’t miss your chance to witness greatness up close - come and cheer him on!"

This will without a doubt be the headliner of the race. Van der Poel will this Wednesday start the Renewi Tour before the European Championships and then, after some more training, will race the Tour de Luxembourg from the 18th to 22nd of September. It is a race that frequently features quite a lot of hilly and explosive stages, which is exactly what the reigning World Champion will be looking for.

Last year the race was won by Marc Hirschi ahead of Brandon McNulty and Ben Healy, whilst previous winners were Mattias Skjelmose and João Almeida. It is a race that has a high-quality field every year and next month van der Poel is expected to face the likes of Hirschi himself and also Deutschland Tour winner Mads Pedersen.