Mathieu van der Poel rode a stellar first week at the Tour de France with a stage win and two different stints in the yellow jersey; alongside an heroic breakaway on stage 9 where he and his teammate Jonas Rickaert almost held off the entire peloton on a pan-flat day. However, his race ended abruptly after leaving the Pyrenees as he contracted pneumonia. Now, a month later, he resumes competition.
Although it is not a professional race, the Dutchman will take part in a local criterium in Netherlands: the Profronde van Etten-Leur. “Mathieu belongs in Etten-Leur, and we’ve done our part to ensure that. Etten-Leur has proven over the years that there’s balance and that fans can enjoy their heroes in droves,” event organizer Peter Kop said in the race’s social media pages.
“The riders will showcase their athletic prowess throughout the day, across three stages, as they battle around the Moeierboom.” The organizers have also managed to bring to the start other names such as Oscar Onley, Thymen Arensman and Tim Wellens. On the women’s side, Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Lorena Wiebes, Lotte Kopecky, Anna van der Breggen and more.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider began his season at Le Samyn and rode an almost ideal classics campaign, winning Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo once again whilst finishing on the podium of the Tour of Flanders and and taking home the E3 Saxo Classic.
After a preparation period, he returned to racing at the Criterium du Dauphiné in stellar form where he was active virtually everyday and managed to put himself in perfect position for the Tour de France. On the road, it is not known yet where he will race these upcoming months, but he should ramp up his training for the Mountain Bike World Championships that take place on the 14th of September in Switzerland.