Van der Poel and Nys criticized for going skiing: "Not recommended for a spring rider"

Van der Poel often does his own thing, and his team will have accepted that by now, says Dutch analyst Thijs Zonneveld. "Somehow the sports directors have a lot of influence on him," he says in his podcast In het Wiel. "We were there in Australia ... How angry Cristophe was then with everything and everyone, but also certainly with Mathieu. So those do influence him. But with things like this: if you say to Van der Poel: "You can't go skiing because you might break your leg," he will answer by showing a middle finger and the words: "Who do you think you are? I'll send you a picture of the snow tomorrow."

"They'd prefer he didn't go. But if you start that way, they'd also say he didn't go downhill on his mountain bike, do 26 jumps, and film it. Besides, he can also ski very well. He's good at everything. So annoying."

Of course, the former rider knows a skiing accident can badly backfire. "But I think, especially when you look at what has happened again on roads all over Europe in the last two weeks, that it might be more dangerous to train on the bike daily than to go skiing for a week," he states. "That's a sad conclusion." Last Sunday, 18-year-old Aidan Worden died during training.

Especially with the big goals of Van der Poel and Nys in mind, they may have to reconsider, argues Greg Van Avermaet. "As a spring rider, it's not advisable anyway," the former rider told Het Nieuwsblad. "I was never forbidden because BMC was a Swiss team, and AG2R was in Chambéry, in the Alps. Many teammates had grown up on the skis and always went skiing on vacation."

Still, the former Paris-Roubaix winner wasn't keen on going down the slopes. "Self-knowledge is important. I've already seen a video of Thibau; he went down smoothly. Mathieu also has plenty of technique and experience. So, for them, the risk is smaller. But to the riders who have never done it, I would say: please wait because it can be hazardous."

"For me, there was indeed a ban on my contract for several years," says Sep Vanmarcke. "Apart from that, it is not appreciated by many teams. However, you notice that the top riders are always allowed more and that the mentality has changed. Now people ask themselves: how do we keep our riders happy so they perform better? People used to get a nasty look if you went mountain biking or running because something had to happen. Not anymore."

"I would never have gone skiing anyway because cycling was everything to me, and I wanted to run zero risk. But if Mathieu and Thibau want to recharge their batteries this way, far away from the bike, I understand their decision. Hopefully, they will return safe and sound because a lot is expected of them."