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As captain of the Dutch group, Mathieu van der Poel wants to go to the road world championships in Australia. “I want to go to the World Cup as team captain, and now I want to gradually build up my level with Wollongong,” the 27-year-old rider from Alpecin Dekoninc said on Wednesday before starting the Druivenkors.
He finished the Belgian race, his first serious race in forty days, in 35th place, 50 seconds behind winner Mathis Lovell.
Van der Poel left the Tour de France in the eleventh stage because the form was lacking. Since then it only started in a few parameters. “My poor performance on the tour is the result of several factors,” he reiterated today. “I got tired after the Giro d’Italia. Then I did altitude training in Livigno which was probably too much to ask.”
France Press agency
He’s been in great shape and, according to him, hasn’t trained much on the bike in recent weeks. “The idea now is to work slowly to get to the top of her game at the World Cup. We’ll be taking stock of things week by week for that match.”
It is not yet certain whether Van der Poel will be the sole captain. Sptinter Fabio Jakobsen indicated earlier this week that he is still considering taking part in the road race for the World Cup title, even though the track looks very challenging for the pure runners.
On September 25th, Wollongong road race where to get a rainbow jersey. Van der Poel was close for three years, but fell due to a meltdown in British Yorkshire.
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