Mathieu van der Poel will decide late on participation in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

After the Benidorm World Cup, Mathieu van der Poel hinted that participating in this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is an option. "It’s in the back of my mind, but I haven’t made any decisions yet," he told our camera. Cycling fans will still have to wait for clarity.

Van der Poel will make the decision quite late. "Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is still a question mark. I will definitely only decide the week before," said the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. "First, I want to see how I feel coming out of my rest after this World Championship."

The 31-year-old Dutchman hopes to first claim his eighth elite cyclocross world title next Sunday. After that, he will switch focus to the road season, but Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Saturday, February 28) is already just a month away.

Is there enough time for Van der Poel to make the switch? "Because I want to be at my best at the Cyclocross World Championships, I always take a week of rest afterward, and then Omloop comes around pretty quickly. But maybe I’ll give it a shot this year."

If the classics specialist decides to include the race in his program this year, he will at least face his eternal rival Wout van Aert. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike has already confirmed he will kick off his season with Omloop.