After the Tour de France in July, Van der Poel moved on to the Olympic Games in Paris before the focus of his calendar turned entirely to the World Championships in Zurich on Sunday, Sept. 29. He moved to his home in Spain, enjoyed a short and well-deserved vacation and then started training again. In the Renewi Tour, however, he could not reap the rewards, as knee problems prevented him from starting in his favorite final stage to Geraardsbergen. So, back to Spain, with the European Championship as his next goal.
In Flanders, the muscles were tight, although no results were achieved. Van der Poel says there has been no crash diet or other drastic measures toward a challenging climbing World Championship with 4,500 meters altitude – as suggested elsewhere. “I don’t think I’m kilos lighter for the World Championship; I always have a bit of the same weight during the season. Maybe it differs one or two kilos, but it won’t be more.”