Mathieu van der Poel resumes training after successful spring with XCO World Championships in mind

Mathieu van der Poel looks back at another phenomenal spring when his palmares became two Monuments larger again. After his third back-to-back Paris-Roubaix triumph, the Ducthman allowed himself to have a brief racing break before shifting focus towards his summer objectives - namedly Tour de France and XCO World Championships.

On his Instagram page, we can see that the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader has resumed training on Costa Blanca along with training partner Freddy Ovett. The 30-year-old Dutchman has a clear goal in mind - the Mountainbike festival in Heubach, Germany on May 18, where Van der Poel will add his first mountain bike start since the 2023 Paris Olympic Games Test Event.

It's projected to be an important first step towards the attempt to become the MTB World champion later this year. Van der Poel will have circled in red the date September 14. That is when the World Championships will take place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. For Van der Poel, there may be a golden opportunity to complete his collection of rainbow jerseys that already includes road stripes from 2023 and seven cyclocross titles.