Van der Poel will not be in Benidorm

During the last two weeks, there has been speculation about Mathieu van der Poel's presence in the Benidorm Cyclocross World Cup. Finally, the Dutchman will not participate in this event, focusing on his team and with his mind set on his main goal for this muddy season: achieving his 8th World Championship in the race that will take place in Hulst on February 1st.

Preparation for the World Championship causes Mathieu van der Poel's absence in Benidorm

When the race calendar for the current cyclocross season was announced, the date of the Benidorm World Cup event appeared with an asterisk in Mathieu van der Poel's agenda. This event would be included or not depending on the pace of his preparation for his true objective: to achieve the 8th rainbow jersey that would allow him to surpass Eric de Vlaeminck's record of victories.

Under normal circumstances, given the tremendous superiority that Van der Poel has shown in all the races he has participated in this season, no one doubts that this will be what happens on February 1st in Hulst, barring any unforeseen events such as a fall or mechanical failure.

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However, the Dutchman has decided to strictly follow the initially planned schedule and not participate in the Benidorm event. This means that Mathieu van der Poel will be without competing in cyclocross for three weeks, until the World Cup race in Maasmechelen, which will take place on January 24th.

Anyone with a basic understanding of training will recognize a pattern where last week was a recovery week after the marathon of Christmas races, this week aerobic work will take precedence, also considering the upcoming road season; and the last two weeks before the World Championship will serve to fine-tune his form with high-intensity work, where the remaining two World Cup races will play an important role, and tapering off training just the week before to arrive completely fresh for the key event.

Such is the importance that Mathieu van der Poel has given to the World Championship event that he has not even considered the fact that he is the current leader of the Cyclocross World Cup, a position that he will obviously relinquish in Benidorm. In any case, the overall classification is so tight, and Mathieu van der Poel has demonstrated such superiority in the races he has participated in that it is not out of the question that, despite not earning points next weekend, he could achieve the final victory by winning the remaining races, although this will depend on the performance of his rivals to accomplish it.