PHOTO: Mathieu van der Poel skips La Fleche Wallonne to prepare for Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the Spanish sun

With two monuments already in the bag this year, world champion Mathieu van der Poel will attempt to make it a hat-trick next weekend at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

After a quieter performance last weekend at the Amstel Gold Race, van der Poel won't be present at La Fleche Wallonne this week, instead returning to the Spanish sun alongside his regular training partner, Freddy Ovett. Riding 90.9km according to Ovett's Strava, the duo completed the distance at an average speed of thirty kilometres per hour, keeping the world champion's legs spinning ahead of his showdown with Tadej Pogacar in Belgium.