Van der Poel could be preparing for cyclocross return by working on his running, with impressive results

In October, Van der Poel capped off a long road season with a superb third-place finish at the World Cycling Championships in Montreal, Canada. Among other victories, the Dutch rider won two Tour stages and the E3 Saxo Classic, but a Monument remained out of reach this year. After such a long road season, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider took some time off. He didn’t want to say much yet about his cyclocross winter.

He did say, however, that he wasn’t yet sure whether he’d be competing at all this winter. In February, he claimed his eighth world title, an all-time record. With a baby on the way—due in January—it remains to be seen whether we’ll see Van der Poel racing at all. Speculation is rife, but the rider himself is keeping his lips sealed.

But he certainly isn't staying inactive. Van der Poel often headed out from his home base on the Costa Blanca. He often went with his buddy Freddy Ovett, but Gianni Vermeersch also tagged along on occasion. Are these kilometres in preparation for the cyclocross season? Maybe, maybe not. But his latest training session certainly suggests that a campaign might be on the horizon.

After all, the running component of cyclocross is also very important. And we already knew that Van der Poel can run fast. This Monday morning, he headed out early for a rigorous training session: he ran no less than 12 kilometers in just 49 minutes, as he showed on Instagram. For the Dutchman, that’s a Zone 2 run... His average heart rate was just 129 beats per minute!

Van der Poel had already gone out with Greg Van Avermaet. He ran about ten kilometres with the Belgian. Little by little, the kilometres are adding up!