Van der Poel ‘has had enough of just training in the Spanish sun’ as Namur start confirmed

When Van der Poel’s winter programme was unveiled last week, his participation in Namur was listed as provisional, with a question mark still hanging over his readiness to race. That caveat has now been removed after a block of training convinced the Dutchman that he is in race shape again.

“The question mark can now be erased. Van der Poel tested his legs in recent days and feels ready to start his season on the Citadel of Namur,” organisers Golazo announced.

Earlier on Friday, Alpecin-Deceuninck team boss Christoph Roodhooft had already indicated that Van der Poel was “almost certain” to start in Namur while presenting Premier Tech as a new co-title sponsor of the team.

Van der Poel ended his road season early after abandoning the Tour de France and then battling a lung infection, which delayed the start of his winter.

“I heard Mathieu complaining afterwards that he didn’t feel like his old self. That’s why he took a rest after the season and then began to build up again slowly,” his father Adrie van der Poel explained last week to Sporza. “He’ll only race Namur if he’s really ready.”

According to Roodhooft, that moment has now arrived, even if some cyclocross-specific work still lies ahead.

“Mathieu has not yet trained on his cross bike. That will probably be for next week,” Roodhooft said to Sporza. “It’s the same gradual build-up we have used in recent years towards the Worlds. I have the feeling he’s had enough of just training in the Spanish sun. He’s ready to come to Belgium and pin on a number again.”

Van der Poel’s confirmed appearance in Namur makes it the start of his winter schedule, where the World Championships in Hulst on February 1 remain the ultimate goal and the chance to claim an outright record eighth elite cyclocross title.