In addition to cyclo-cross, Van der Poel also completes rigorous endurance training: "We stick to the plan"

These days, Mathieu van der Poel is racing through the Flemish cyclo-cross circuit like a whirlwind, but the work ethic of the Alpecin-Deceuninck Dutchman towards the spring season does not suffer as a result. On the contrary, he even makes time, in addition to his cyclo-cross races, to also complete endurance training sessions for the spring.

It is 1:40 PM, right after the men's course reconnaissance in Loenhout. Just sixteen hours after his resounding victory in Diegem, Mathieu has already completed a few laps on the cyclo-cross circuit. "It was a pretty short night. I went to bed early, but I think it was quarter past two before I fell asleep. I generally don't sleep well after races," says VDP.

"I do feel it in my legs," he continued before the start of the race. "The trainings in between are also quite tough, but we stick to the plan. I wouldn't say cyclo-cross comes second, but the trainings in between are more important." Second or not, Van der Poel's legs are certainly fit for cyclo-cross: after a patient first half to the race, he left the competition behind once again in Loenhout.

Van der Poel also completes rigorous endurance training in addition to cyclo-cross endeavours

But what exactly are these road trainings like? We see Wout van Aert logging long endurance rides and running sessions on Strava, but Van der Poel certainly contributes his share in this respect: a few hours before the cyclo-cross race in Diegem, he completed an endurance session on his road bike. "I continue to do endurance training in between races, so you do feel that recovery is slightly less. However, we just stick to the plan."

By plan, he is obviously referring to the races that are important to him in 2024, with the classics and the Olympic Games being the highlights. That is why in races like Diegem and Loenhout, he tolerates competition for about half the race. "Being as energy efficient as possible is good enough. That is the key for me. Now, as I head back to Spain, I want to start training well immediately instead of recovering from the Christmas period," says Van der Poel, who is heading back to warmer climates after Zonhoven (on January 7th).

He spent a large part of the last few months there, but isn't it challenging to have to get back on the bike in Belgium for road training, in between cyclo-cross races? "It's not hard to leave for such an endurance training, once you've started it's a habit. The only difficult factor is the weather occasionally, but this week I was lucky that the weather was good when I had to do long rides. That will be better in Spain, so I am looking forward to that," the good-natured Van der Poel says with a smile.

But first, Hulst (December 30), Baal (January 1), Koksijde (January 4) and Zonhoven (January 7) are up next. "I actually don't feel my strength diminishing," he says, looking ahead to that series after the Diegem-Loenhout combination. "It's a different kind of winter than before, when I had to go full throttle twice every weekend. Now, I have a slightly broader base, and you do notice that you can recover more smoothly from those efforts."