Van der Poel does not know the origin of his injury and marks the World Championship as "only goal" of the cyclocross season

The CX World Championships in Hoogerheide is "the only goal of the cyclocross season" for Van der Poel. The Dutchman gave an interview to Sporza, in which he also said that his back problem is "frustrating" because no one knows what is causing it.

Van der Poel, focusing on cyclocross World Championships while dealing with back problems

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider faces the end of the season in the mud with the goal of winning the World Championship. It would be the fifth time that Van der Poel has won the discipline's rainbow jersey.

The Orange Beast gave an interview to Sporza media during his training camp with the team in Spain. Next on Van der Poel's agenda is the Benidorm World Cup and perhaps the Besançon World Cup (he has not yet confirmed his presence in the French race).

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Even so, February 5th is marked in red in his calendar, since it will be then when the World Championship will take place. He admits that he will then close his CX season, although he does not hide his frustration for the back problem that he has been carrying since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and that reappeared last January 5th during the X2O of Koksijde.

"I wish I knew it myself," Van der Poel replied to the question of what's wrong with his back. He admitted that his situation has improved compared to last year, but on the other hand, "it's still frustrating when you can't go at your best during the CX".

In addition, he does not believe that the reason for the injury is the particular hardness that cyclocross is for the back, as he recalls that "before I could run 30 crosses per season without back problems".

And that's the main reason why the Dutchman defines this injury "as one of the most frustrating of my career." "Mainly because we couldn't find the cause," he says. 

He detailed that "loosening up and training the muscles" is the "only remedy" they have at the moment. "If I pedal quietly, that's fine, but I want to be able to get back out in the field at full throttle for an hour," he said.

Van der Poel also revealed that after the World Championships he will return to Spain to stay in the hotel where he is now, which has altitude rooms. "That way I can train intensively faster," he explained.

Van der Poel wants to race MTB again at the Olympic Games

As a versatile rider, he also wants to achieve great success in MTB. Specifically, he has indicated his desire to be in the 2024 Paris Olympics, so he has explained that "until the summer of next year I will continue to practice mountain biking".

From there, the Cape Epic is another competition he would like to participate in.

Van der Poel will turn 28 next Thursday. "I want to keep winning races for a few more years," he said.