Winning Cyclocross World Championships "takes a lot more energy and stress than many people think" - Dutch national coach and Adrie van der Poel on reigning champion Mathieu

Only one week left towards the Lièvin Cyclocross World Championships, and this weekend all riders will race for the final time before the big day in France. At this point, Mathieu van der Poel has been out of action for three weeks, and his form is the subject of talks including his father Adrie and Gerben de Knegt - the Netherlands' national coach.

"'Everything okay?', I asked every now and then. To which he then replied affirmatively. Or whether he gave a thumbs up. A little better every day, it turned out. We didn't specifically talk about that rib injury, but something like that takes time. In principle, four to eight weeks," Adrie van der Poel told Het Laatste Nieuws. "... The training work of Mathieu and Wout in Spain, in full preparation for their classic spring on the road, was at least as heavy and taxing in the past few weeks. Wout also indicated in Benidorm that he did not feel super fresh. Logical, I think. Then another full week to ride a bit with the cross bike: that should be enough to be one hundred percent ready. Let me put it this way: the 'i' is already there, but the dot still has to be put on."

Van der Poel can achieve a record-matching seventh World title. Although he has won so much that he rarely feels the pressure, that record will certainly be on the back of his mind throughout the next week. "That is something unique. After a first or second rainbow jersey, such a record is still a long way off and you don't think about it. That changes when you have six. He won't be fanatically occupied with it, but of course he is confronted with it."

The Dutchman crashed at the Exact Cross Loenhout and although it didn't seem serious at first, the rib pain led him to forfeit some of his scheduled races, changing his approach to the Worlds. He hasn't raced since the 29th of December, and has recently been in a training camp with Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt told Het Nieuwsblad told Het Nieuwsblad that he didn't feel like van der Poel needed to race during the Christmas block: "Three crosses and that's it. I don't mind. Or just the World Championship. That would still be fine. But he doesn't like that. Then he wants to ride a bigger program. Mathieu sometimes comes across as a bit uninterested, but he really has a big cyclo-cross heart. Otherwise he would certainly approach it differently."

Whilst most people see van der Poel as the one and only candidate for the victory, de Knegt reinstates how it very much is not the case. "Everyone thinks Mathieu is going to pick up the title there. He should just get on his bike and put his hands in the air. No way. It takes a lot more energy and stress than many people think. And when it comes to Wout: he wants to keep that energy in the tank for his road program."

"I try to talk to Mathieu about tactics before the World Championships, but he always comes up with his usual explanation that he will see it all in the race. Only when you ask a bit more, it turns out that he has scenarios in his head. Mathieu likes to play dumb and can sometimes act a bit nonchalant, but he has more of a handle on things than he lets on. That cannot be otherwise with his record of achievements," he concluded.