Mathieu van der Poel shrugs off big weight loss rumours: "I don't stand on the scale that often"

The World Championships this year are quite difficult and suited to the climbers in Zurich. Mathieu van der Poel has the 29th of September marked on his calendar for a long time and will be trying to defend his rainbow jersey. It has been suggested that he lost several kilograms in preparation for the race but he shrugs off these rumours.

"I don't stand on the scale that often. In some periods, I watch what I eat, but I'm not obsessive about it. I don't think I'm kilos lighter for the World Championship," van der Poel said in words to In de Leiderstrui. "I always have a bit of the same weight during the season. Maybe it differs one or two kilos, but it won't be more." The Dutchman hence should be at around his standard weight into the final key moment of his season next week, although certainly it must've been in the back of the head of the Belgian team to work on this for slight gains into the hilly race. 

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"I think it's too easy to blame my European Championship performance on my weight and training in Spain. Even though it was my first tough race in a long time, I wasn't satisfied," the Dutchman said. Van der Poel performed to perfection during last winter and spring, but then didn't manage to take the desired results from the Tour de France and Olympic Games that followed. After a bit of rest and racing, he has built up once again to reach peak form into the Worlds.

He did abandon before the queen stage of the Renewi Tour which would be an important test; and although he looked strong and on the offensive at the European Championships, it wasn't a route where the classics riders could thrive. "I maybe missed that final day in the Renewi Tour. It wasn't bad either, but I just didn't have the legs I wanted to ride around with. That's why I'm here in Luxembourg," he continues. He won the opening stage and finished second on stage 2, and will have a few more hilly days to prime his form against tough competition.

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I still need those race days, the suffering in the race. That is the most important thing this week. In Spain, I did a lot of endurance training, which was important after the Tour de France. It takes a bit longer on the bike, with sometimes some intensive blocks. But those weren't too bad in terms of quantity."

Team manager Christoph Roodhoft assured everything is in place: "He is at weight because he is trying to prepare for the World Championship. So, I think that makes sense for everyone. But all that is not alarmingly much, not five kilos so. He's doing everything to bring out the top condition of the spring one more time. Then we'll see".

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ANALYSIS: Does Mathieu van der Poel have a chance of beating Tadej Pogacar and retaining Rainbow Jersey?

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