When Mathieu van der Poel returns to cyclocross in mid-December, it will be his first race since September 14, when he immediately ended his season after a disappointing mountain bike World Championship. According to his father Adrie, that interim period has not always been easy.
Although Van der Poel still won a stage in the Renewi Tour in the autumn and finished second in the overall classification, the pneumonia that forced him out of the Tour de France affected him longer than expected.
"After withdrawing from the Tour, he really struggled for quite a while," Adrie told Sporza. "I heard him complain afterwards that he wasn’t himself. In the Renewi Tour in August, he said he was okay, but not yet where he wanted to be. That’s why he took some rest and started to build up slowly again."
The after-effects of the pneumonia lingered for a long time. "They are only now finally starting to go away," confirms father Van der Poel. "He can complete his training sessions, so things can progress quickly. But Mathieu won’t compete if he’s not ready."
Hence the question marks surrounding the cyclocross race in Namur on December 14. "He will see if he’s ready. If he is, he will race. If not, he won’t. Important events are lined up for him next season, so it’s better to fully recover first and then start again. But reading between the lines, it looks like things are heading in the right direction."
