Mathieu Van der Poel will race this Sunday in Plouay to "be present as world champion"

Reigning world champion Mathieu van der Poel has decided to stay in action before resting and thinking about the upcoming cyclocross season. Thus, participating in seven more races this fall.

His first stop will be at the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France, also known as the GP de Plouay, which will take place next Sunday. The main reason for this decision? According to Alpecin-Deceuninck team manager Christoph Roodhooft, "to be present as world champion."

For Van der Poel, it's not necessarily about adding more wins to his already impressive list of victories. Roodhooft noted, "It matters little in his palmarès if he wins races like Plouay or Fourmies, even if they are big races. Mathieu also absolutely wants to race the mountain bike [test] event for the Olympics, so he had to keep busy. There are really no concrete goals, but hopefully an apple will come rolling out somewhere."

Van der Poel's current form is an unknown. However, Roodhooft expressed optimism about Van der Poel's progress: "There has obviously been some decompression after the World Championships. After the disappointment of the Mountain Bike World Championships, he went on vacation for a few days. But since then he has started training well and I have the impression that things are going reasonably well."

The rainbow jersey, which identifies the world champion, ensures that Van der Poel cannot go unnoticed, even without it, his outstanding presence in races already makes him stand out. However, Roodhooft emphasizes the importance of taking care of the Dutch cyclist's mental well-being, especially as he advances in his career: "You often see great talents fade after this stage of their career, around the age of 30. We do everything in our power to prevent this, because anonymity is not part of his character. He's either on the right track, or he's not," concludes Roodhooft.