Alpecin-Deceuninck explains why it's likely that withdrawals around Van der Poel are "just pure bad luck"

After the European Cycling Championships — Van der Poel placed attack after attack but ultimately failed to win — the versatile Dutchman indicated that the Tour of Luxembourg would "still bring him joy" ahead of the World Championships. The world title race in Zurich is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 29, in a week and a half.

In Luxembourg, Van der Poel will face a hilly five-day race to build up his legs. He will also meet other World Championship outsiders such as Marc Hirschi (UAE-Team Emirates), Mads Pedersen, and Mattias Skelmose (Lidl-Trek). Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen, also selected for the Dutch World Championship team, are also in the race on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike. All of them were seriously challenged by the world champion, during an uphill finish on Wednesday.

Van der Poel was supposed to be supported in Luxembourg by experienced riders Søren Kragh Andersen, Silvan Dillier and Jimmy Janssens, with cyclo-cross men Emiel Verstrynge and Jente Michels completing the team. However, before the race even started, the team already suffered a significant setback. Janssens came down with a viral infection and couldn't start, and Kragh Andersen also had to withdraw last minute due to stomach issues, leaving only four Alpecin-Deceuninck riders on the start podium for this edition of the Tour of Luxembourg.

Halfway through the first stage, another blow came when Verstrynge had to abandon the race. It’s unclear why the Belgian had to step down. Van der Poel himself seemed to be unaffected, shrugging it off afterward when speaking to IDLProCycling.com. "I'm not someone who gets stressed easily. I can't really change anything about it either. It's especially unfortunate for this race and for those three guys." As for taking measures to keep himself fit, fresh and healthy, he hadn't considered it yet after his stage win. "I hope I won’t need to."

There was some good news from team director Christoph Roodhooft, who tried his best to reassure everyone in a phone interview with our website. "Emiel felt weak during the race, so we pulled him out. We believe it was just an unlucky coincidence. Jimmy came in yesterday already coughing, and Søren's wife and child had the same symptoms. Also, Emiel's brother was suffering from diarrhea. So, it just seems like pure bad luck. Are we going to test and examine the other riders more closely now? We’d be foolish not to. This isn’t FC De Kampioenen (comedy show about an amateur soccer club in Belgium known for its foolishness, ed.), you know."