Fans are in the dark about Van der Poel’s cyclo-cross return, but what do those early morning rides mean?

Following the Worlds in Crans-Montana, Van der Poel forced himself to take a break after a long, grueling season. “I rode my bike once in the U.S. for a social event,” he said last week. “That didn’t go very well. I went for another ride yesterday, but chances are the bike will stay in the shed for a while longer. I feel like I could use a bit more rest.”

So, when will we see Van der Poel back in cyclo-cross? “An extra week of rest won’t hurt,” he said. “Because once my cyclo-cross season starts, it’s a fast run of races and classics again. It’ll all come around quickly. In terms of number, schedule, and structure, it’ll be quite similar to last year, but first, a solid training block in Spain.”

After that training block, Van der Poel returned home to Belgium. It seems we won’t be seeing the seven-time world champion in cyclocross for a while yet. But that doesn’t mean he’s sitting still. Knowing Van der Poel, he always has to keep himself busy, whether it’s cycling, golf, or running. On Thursday, he was back at it, training around his home.

Together with his training partner Niels Verdijck, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider headed out very early. “The early birds,” his Belgian friend wrote on Strava. It wasn’t exactly a hard session, 95 kilometers at an average speed of 33 km/h, but heading out that early says a lot about his motivation. Bring on the winter!