At this year’s Milan-San Remo, we could be getting a surprise as Mathieu Van Der Poel could be added to Alpecin-Fenix’s roster for the Italian Classic event. Van Der Poel had a long rehab period after a nasty back injury, he has made phenomenal progress since then. The training camp in Spain certainly helped him build his form back again.
With that being said, all of these reports are not confirmed as the Team has not made any confirmation about Van Der Poel. There were even rumors that he would be making his “Grand Return” at the Coppi e Bartali which will start from March 22, but that also remains to be seen.
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The Dutchman has been busy, to say the least. He was busy with training, slowly getting back to strength, while also ramping up the intensity of his exercises. This week, we saw his return to Belgium, where he is hard at work, regaining his form.
Mathieu Van Der Poel stated:
Getting some speed in the legs
This could only mean that he planning on making a return to racing again and we cannot wait to see him back in action.
As of right now, Alpecin-Fenix has only confirmed two riders that will be racing in Milan-San Remo. Those riders are Kristian Sbaragli and Jasper Philipsen respectively. The team also issued a list of their sick and injured riders, the list contained: Lionel Taminiaux, Oscar Riesebeek, Sjoerd Bax, Eddie Anderson, Sam Gaze, Jasper Philipsen, Kristian Sbaragli, Jonas Rickaert, Jay Vine, and Alex Bogna. All of these riders are in a different state of health.
Van Der Poel got injured last summer when he was trying to shift between road and mountain biking to prepare for Tour De France and the Tokyo Olympic Games. His Tour De France performance was going well, it was in the Tokyo Olympic Games where he met with a grizzly crash and had to abandon the event.
He has an iron will, that is for sure as he returned again last year for Antwerp Port Epic and won the event. He also finished third at last year’s Paris-Roubaix.
Will Van Der Poel make a comeback for Milan-San Remo? Only time will tell, we won’t have to wait long for his return as the event starts on Saturday!
Also Read: Tadej Pogacar Accompanied By “Combative” Squad For Milan-San Remo
Featured Image Via YouTube/ Average Rob
