The Dutch team for the Namur World Cup includes many big names. As announced, not only is Mathieu van der Poel ready for his first cyclocross race of the season, the same goes for top talents Tibor Del Grosso and Puck Pieterse.
National coach Gerben de Knegt is fielding 11 elite men and 13 elite women, with world champion Van der Poel as the key rider. “It’s always exciting to see what form they are in,” says De Knegt. “Mathieu is in a league of his own, but for a first race it’s always hard to say how high his level will be. Hopefully, he takes the first step in race preparation towards the World Championships on Sunday.”
The coach emphasizes that the form of Del Grosso and Pieterse is also uncertain at this point. Additionally, Senna Remijn is back in the lineup. After an injury, he had to postpone his planned season start in Flamanville but has now sufficiently recovered.
The absence of Shirin van Anrooij is also noticeable. She has chosen to focus on training for the moment and will rejoin the team later. This applies to several other women as well. “There are quite a few withdrawals among the women for this World Cup,” De Knegt explains. “On the one hand, it’s a shame, but on the other hand, it means other riders get a chance to race a World Cup this weekend.”
