Stef Clement sees no clear benefit in Mathieu van der Poel's alternative World Championships preparation

The elite men's road race at the World Championships in Canada is just over two weeks away. While most of the leading contenders have chosen to prepare either through the Canadian WorldTour races or the Vuelta a España, Mathieu van der Poel has opted for a different route. The Dutch Alpecin-Premier Tech rider will only travel to Canada after completing the Tour of Luxembourg.

Van der Poel is currently in Spain, where he completed another demanding 160-kilometre training ride on Friday alongside regular training partner Freddy Ovett. On Wednesday, the Dutchman will start the Tour of Luxembourg, a race he also contested in 2024 as part of his preparation for the World Championships in Zurich. Van der Poel eventually finished third there.

Stef Clement comments on Van der Poel’s decision in the NOS Cycling Podcast . “He always makes his own plan, and apparently he has seen an advantage in doing it this way. But we're not really sure what that advantage is,” Clement said. Rivals including Paul Seixas, Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock and Isaac del Toro have chosen to prepare through the races in Quebec and Montreal, while Wout van Aert and Enric Mas have been racing the Vuelta a España.

Clement believes racing in Quebec and Montreal could also have worked well for Van der Poel. “I can imagine that, despite the differences, you'd want to study the course, get used to the time zone and speak to people who want something from you at a quieter moment. But he's going to let everything happen in one short burst, just before the World Championships,” he analysed.

Van der Poel will come up against his regular rival Wout van Aert at the World Championships, and Clement also expects plenty from the Belgian. “We know he has a phenomenal engine, and let's hope that produces some spectacle at the World Championships.”

“The course looks very well suited to Evenepoel, but he has 'the problem' that there is another top favourite in the Belgian team in Van Aert. Could it be payback time for once? At the Olympic Games, Van Aert went first, and then Evenepoel was able to make the difference the second time,” Clement said, seeing a potential opportunity for the Visma | Lease a Bike rider.