Van der Poel returns to Spain to prepare for the Paris-Roubaix 2024

Mathieu van der Poel has not wasted time to, after his spectacular victory in the Tour of Flanders, return to his home on the coast of Alicante to be able to do the last trainings and disconnect for a few days before facing the assault on the Paris-Roubaix 2024 that will take place next Sunday, April 7.

Mathieu van der Poel finalizes his preparation for the Paris-Roubaix 2024 in Alicante

In an interview a few months ago, Mathieu van der Poel stated that one of the main reasons for moving to Spain, specifically to the Marina Alta region of Alicante, where most teams carry out their winter training camps and which the Dutchman has turned into his home, was to be able to train more comfortably and with better weather as well as to escape from certain commitments.

Precisely, that disconnection for a few days, and being able to do a couple more good trainings before the Paris-Roubaix 2024 have been the main reason why Mathieu van der Poel, as he stepped off the podium of the Tour of Flanders 2024, set off for the airport to travel to Spain.

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Van der Poel did not specify his plan for this week "I will see what I can do day by day. I need to recover a bit" he said after finishing the Tour of Flanders with completely depleted reserves in a finale that he compared to the tremendous explosion he had at the 2019 World Championships held in Yorkshire in extreme conditions, similar to those experienced on Sunday in Flemish lands "It's the toughest Tour of Flanders I've raced. I needed an hour to start recovering".

It is curious the trip to Spain of Mathieu van der Poel in a week when most favorites take advantage to do the last reconnaissance of the Paris-Roubaix sections, although it is possible that the Dutchman travels with enough time to be able to see the most relevant sections during Friday or Saturday.

He is not the first favorite who prefers to escape after participating in the Tour of Flanders and get away from the pressure before the Paris-Roubaix. In fact, Fabian Cancellara in his day was one of those who took the first available flight after Flanders to return to Bern with his family. Will Mathieu van der Poel be able to repeat the double that the Swiss achieved in 2013?