Van der Poel's World Championships prep is on track in Luxembourg, but he knows the Dutch team is missing one thing

Van der Poel’s path to the World Championships in Montréal (Canada) is different from that of nearly all the competitors he’ll face there. Some opted for the Vuelta a España (Wout van Aert), while many others scheduled a training block and then competed in the two-race series consisting of the GP Québec and GP Montréal. Think of Isaac del Toro, Paul Seixas, and Remco Evenepoel.

After the Tour de France this summer, Van der Poel mainly rode his mountain bike, with the World Championships in Val di Sole in August as his main goal. That turned out to be a disappointment. “But there’s nothing I can do about it now; it’s easier these days than it used to be to flip that switch. I had expected more from it, of course. But it’s not the end of the world either—on to the next goal.”

Speaking to VTM before the start of Stage 1 of the Tour of Luxembourg, he further explained that a two-race series in Canada following a mountain bike training block was “a little too early.” Van der Poel opted for a longer training block in Spain so that he would be in better shape for the Tour of Luxembourg and could really put the finishing touches on his preparation.

Van der Poel won the first stage on Wednesday, though he admitted afterward that he had been“a little too enthusiastic” with an early attack on the final climb. It was all hard-earned work. “It might have gone a little too well to really test myself,” he laughed in an interview with NOS. “I was able to dig deep, just like here at the finish. All in all, I’m satisfied.”

In 2023, Van der Poel also won the first stage of the Tour of Luxembourg, but he ultimately finished second in the overall standings. Winning the overall title is not his “main goal” right now, but Van der Poel is going to give it a shot. He wants to test himself every day. “I could tell today that I’ve been training hard these past few days, but I’m happy with this performance.”

"These are the motivators I need; you don't find them in training," said the Dutch rider, who will fly to Canada after the Tour of Luxembourg on Tuesday, September 22, and will then have four more days to acclimate. “I think that should be enough. It’s always a little easier traveling that way than when you’re flying back.”

The road race in Montreal on September 27 will be a close call. Although Van der Poel faces a lot of climbing in Luxembourg, he himself has already assessed that it will be “a bit too tough” for him in Canada. But: “You never know at a championship, and it doesn’t necessarily have to happen on that climb. You always have to race.”

Del Toro (who won the GP Montréal), Seixas, Evenepoel, and all those other climbers have the edge, but Van der Poel wouldn’t have gone for it if he didn’t think he had a chance. “It’ll be tough to find a tactical solution, but the World Championships can be an atypical race. It’s a team event and without earpieces, so that’s different from other races.”

Unpredictability should help Van der Poel. And losing 2 kilos, too. The fact that he doesn’t really have a climbing leader by his side on the Dutch team does make things a bit more difficult. According to him, the Netherlands can “stay in the mix if the final breakaway happens early,” but having a true climber by his side would make it “easier.” However, a rider like Thymen Arensman decided to skip the World Championships.