Mathieu van der Poel returns to competition at Gravel World Championships

Mathieu van der Poel is no stranger to off-road racing, and he will be testing himself soon in Italy where he will ride the Gravel World Championships, set to take place this weekend on the 8th and 9th of October in Veneto.

The road peloton will also see two one-day races in the region the week following - which will conclude the European road racing calendar for the year. Van der Poel will be present in the event, after concluding his road season in Australia with a dramatic and disappointing week where he was arrested the night before the road race and could not take part in the race's competitive side.

With Cyclocross on his mind for the winter, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has decided to delay his off-season, and will travel to Italy. The likes of Peter Sagan, Zdenek Stybar, Greg van Avermaet and teammate Gianni Vermeersch are also set to take part in the event.