Renewi Tour. Golf. MTB Worlds. In that order - Van der Poel's grind never stops

During his time at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale caused a furore by posing in front of a flag bearing the legend ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.’ The Welsh footballer’s time on the golf course had become a sticking point in Spain, but Bale simply saw it as a way of unwinding from the pressures of his profession.

Mathieu van der Poel doubtless feels the same way. Within hours of placing second overall at the Renewi Tour after a high-octane final stage on Sunday afternoon, the Dutchman reached for his golf clubs and headed out for a round at the Rinkven golf club in Schilde. 

“Are you ever tired?” Van der Poel’s partner Roxane wondered on social media. He responded that the golf course was his “happy place.”

Although Van der Poel ultimately lost out on overall victory at the Renewi Tour to Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), he declared himself happy with his performance across the five days in his first race since pneumonia forced him out of the Tour de France.

Van der Poel won a dramatic stage over the Muur van Geraardsbergen on Saturday afternoon, but he was unable to divest De Lie of the overall lead on the final day. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider looked to put his rival in difficulty in the finale, and he took the provisional lead thanks to his efforts in the Green Kilometre bonus sprints. De Lie recovered, however, to win the bunch sprint for stage and overall victory.

“I wanted to make the race as fast as possible, and I succeeded. I heard a few times on the radio that Arnaud was struggling at the back, and that was kind of the intention,” Van der Poel said, according to Sporza.

Although Van der Poel was provisional race leader as the race thundering into the final kilometre, he was well aware that only a stage win would guarantee him overall victory given the time bonuses on offer at the finish. In the sprint, he had to settle for second place behind De Lie, who won the overall title by three seconds from Van der Poel.

“I knew at the finish that the only way I could lose was if Arnaud could still grab those 10 seconds. We did everything we could, but it just didn’t work out,” Van der Poel said.

“It was impressive of him to fight his way back into the race and then win that sprint. I know Arnaud well and he’s coming out of a difficult period, so I wish him the best.”

Van der Poel will now turn his attention to mountain biking, with the World Championships in Crans-Montana on September 14 his main objective for the remainder of the season. Already a world champion in road, cyclocross and gravel, Van der Poel is vying to win a rainbow jersey in a fourth discipline.

His lone mountain bike appearance to date this season came at the Nove Mesto World Cup in May, when he crashed twice and suffered a fractured scaphoid. He will return to the discipline on Sunday at the World Cup in Les Gets.

“I rode the mountain bike a few times beforehand to get used to that position. That’s the biggest adjustment for me,” Van der Poel told VTM. “The technique will come naturally once I can ride the course every day starting Wednesday. I did the same thing in May in the run-up to Nove Mesto, but this time I hope to finish.”

Van der Poel’s lack of mountain bike results this year, however, will put him at a disadvantage in Crans-Montana, despite the absence of Olympic champion Tom Pidcock, who is in action at the Vuelta a España.

“I'll only start from the fourth row, and in mountain biking, the start is even more important than in cyclocross,” Van der Poel said. “My chances of becoming world champion are still slim after this week, but I do think I made the difference this week fitness-wise. Now I need a few days of rest, and then Les Gets will be the real test. I don't see that World Championships as a bonus, but as a grand prize.”