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Van der Poel confirmed that he would compete in both road and mountain bike events in Glasgow As the UCI launches the first of its new initiative of quadrennial, multi-discipline World Championships. Van der Poel confirmed to reporters ahead of the restart of his season that he would target the road race, which takes place on August 6, and the mountain bike event which follows six days later.
Van der Poel will be one of the favourites both on and off-road, but he won’t be mixing up road with mountain bike as preparatory events, with the Tour de France his last race before his worlds campaign.
“We’ve talked about it here in La Plagne,” said van der Poel. “Normally, I will also do the Worlds on the mountain bike the week after the Worlds on the road, but without any specific preparation.
“I will try to go there without any pressure and just try to adapt by riding a bit on the mountain bike the week after the road Worlds. I will be there anyway, so maybe something nice can happen there. Of course, the shape should be good from the road Worlds, so I’ll give it a try and see where it ends."
The reason for van der Poel’s participation with his limited optimism is around qualification for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. The mountain bike XCO field has only 36 athlete spots at the Olympics, with the top eight countries earning two places.
The Netherlands is currently ranked 31st, meaning Van der Poel will need to start picking up points in mountain bike events to ensure a spot on the startline, with seeding for the start grid also important.
"It will not be easy to get there and that’s also the reason why I’m taking the chance and going to the Worlds without any mountain bike training beforehand," van der Poel said.
“It’s a bit of a gamble, but we have to try it to get the starting spot in Paris. If I want to go there, then for sure I have to go mountain biking."
The other big target for the Dutch star will be the Tour de France. He created waves in 2021, taking the stage win and the yellow jersey on stage 2. He then held the maillot jaune for a week before abandoning to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. In 2022, it was the most subdued performance in the flying Dutchman’s career, showing up tired to the race after an attacking display at the Giro d’Italia, eventually pulling out on stage 11.
"I'm motivated to do a good Tour," van der Poel said. "It's the first year I'm coming in with a really good preparation, without other things to think about, so I'm actually looking forward to doing my best Tour. I think we're going to have a strong team."
The other big focus this year for van der Poel is the Tour de France, with a specific training-focused program rather than racing to prepare the star of the sport for France in July.
"Paris is the last stop before the Worlds,” said van der Poel. “For sure it's time to finish it. I want to make a good Tour like the Giro last year. I don't think it makes sense to throw too much energy away during the Tour, but for sure I won't hold back too much either."
