Mathieu van der Poel has opted to skip the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Benidorm to train with his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammates in warm-weather Spain.
The reigning cyclo-cross World Champion is currently leading the World Cup series with 200 points after winning five rounds of the 12-round series. He moved into the series lead after his most recent triumph in Zonhoven.
The Dutch national team had entered him in the race just to keep his options open, but the official registration closed on Monday. Alpecin-Premier Tech confirmed on Thursday that Van der Poel would skip the next World Cup, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
It's not surprising that Van der Poel has decided to forgo the series top spot by not competing at Benidorm, after he had already stated that his calendar after Zonhoven wasn't clear. "We'll decide based on whether I need additional cyclo-cross stimulation during my training camp in Spain or whether I prefer road training," he said of his plans while in Spain.
Also chasing the series ranking is Thibau Nys (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions), who has 190 points and now sits just 10 points behind Van der Poel after winning three rounds of his own.
Behind the two leaders are Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw) with 187 points, and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) with 186 points. Sweeck was leading the series but suffered a shoulder injury in a crash at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross in late December and is out of action.
Van der Poel has been undefeated during his cyclo-cross season, claiming a ninth consecutive victory in Zonhoven before leaving directly for Spain to join his teammates for a road season training camp for what he called much-needed endurance training.
"Because I really need the endurance training I missed last month with all that cyclo-cross racing, now that I'm looking forward to the spring road classics. So, it's a lot of hours, with the necessary rest breaks here and there. See you in Maasmechelen, guys!" Het Laatste Nieuws reported.
Van der Poel is expected to return to the World Cup for the following two rounds in Maasmechelen on January 24 and Hoogerheide on January 25 before defending his rainbow jersey at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst from January 31 to February 1.
