Mathieu van der Poel to race Tour de Suisse - Set to reignite Tadej Pogacar rivalry as he looks to bounce back from classics

Mathieu van der Poel is sure to be left with a bitter-sweet taste in his mouth when he looks back on his spring campaign, and will reportedly be at the Tour de Suisse next month to right some wrongs. The Dutch rider picked up two big one day classic wins - but neither of them were a monument after coming up short in the Tour of Flanders, Paris Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo.

Looking at it from the other side, van der Poel could say he was next best in Flanders, got unlucky with a double-puncture in Roubaix and that he was at the front of the race on the Poggio in Sanremo. But then there's Tadej Pogacar.

The two have built up quite the rivalry in recent years, sweeping monuments between them but for occasional isolated winners over the past five years. It was the Slovenian who got the better of him in Flanders and Sanremo, and now van der Poel comes to Switzerland in what is sure to catch pogacar's attention.

The Dutchman will take to the start line at the Tour de Suisse (June 17th to 21st), reports HLN. The move will see him possibly re-ignite his rivalry with classics opponent Tadej Pogacar in Switzerland as both set their sights on the Tour de France.

With van der Poel reportedly set to ride the Tour de France and in training since Paris Roubaix last month, it's likely the 31-year-old will show up in top form as he prepares for the Barcelona Grand Depart from July 4th.

Pogacar recently ticked of Tour de Romandie from his palmares and will show up in Switzerland also looking to add another stage race to his record, but he faces stiff competition as Primoz Roglic, Tom Pidcock and Matteo Jorgenson among the general classification men confirmed.

However, with less than two weeks between the stage race and the Tour, it's unclear how the top contenders will use the race. Pogacar has reportedly changed training cycles and is likely to come at a lighter weight and more adept for long climbs, as opposed to his more muscular classics shape.