Mathieu van der Poel’s triumph at the World Championships is predicted by the Dutch national coach, but “if a Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel has a good day, then it will be difficult.”

The European Championships in Belgium take place already within a month. Mathieu van der Poel will lead the team alongside Olav Kooij; and the national coach of the Netherlands has talked about the team’s ambitions there but also the reigning World Champion’s chances in Zurich later this season.

Mathieu van der Poel is a card for the cobbled sectors in the race, whilst Olav Kooij leads a strong leadout with the ambitions of a victory on that scenario. “Olav [Kooij] did very well last year at the European Championships on and around the VAM-berg. He had been sitting with a knee injury for a long time before the most recent national championships,” team coach Koos Moerenhout told Wielerflits. “It was a matter of waiting to see how he would handle the Tour of Poland. That test was very good, given his two stage victories. He is therefore preferred over Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen.”

The team decided to go with Kooij instead of Dylan Groenewegen due to the Visma’s comfort in the classics-like terrain, and his recent strong form at the Tour de Pologne. The team has van der Poel as a card to attack but the race might just end in a sprint. Are they the favourites to take the win with such a strong squad? “Well, I wouldn’t call ourselves that right now. It will probably be the Belgian team,” he argues, a team that should have Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier… Whilst the likes of Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel are certainly possibilities too.

 

And what about van der Poel’s chances in the more difficult Worlds in Zuric? “Yes, that is possible. Look, it is true that it is a difficult course. But in my opinion, Van der Poel is certainly not without a chance. If a Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel has a good day, then it will be difficult,” he admits. The race will have a circuit where the main climb will be almost 3 kilometers long, more than the explosive type of effort where van der Poel usually thrives.

 

“But hey, it is the World Championship. That can and should be difficult. The most important thing is that Mathieu starts there at his best level. And then everything is open. Glasgow was more suited to Mathieu than to Pogačar. In Zurich it will be the other way around. But there too, Mathieu van der Poel definitely has a chance and I am building my team around him,” he concluded.