Things are finally looking better for Mathieu Van Der Poel as he is back on his bike, after a back injury he had to take things easy. Complete bed rest was advised for the Dutchman as he had swelling on an intervertebral disc, and after a long injury lay-off, he is finally getting back to his previous form.
He was taking things slowly with his training, although he has now completed multiple rides both indoor and outdoor these past couple of days. This marks a very important step towards full recovery, he successfully refrained from cycling for a month until he returned back to his trainer on January 29 and this was for three consecutive days.
View this post on Instagram
Zwift has been extremely helpful for the rider as he has completed a ride of 19.5km as a rough start, he doubled that distance the next time he rode. Although being a rider in professional isolation is very hard as he took things to the next level and went for a ride outdoors.
He completed a ride from his home to the Alpecin-Fenix service course, this was a two-way trip as he also rode back home. His average speed for 33km/h and he covered a distance of 64km, this was in the rain, which shows that he is certainly getting better.
Friends will not let you down once you have a strong bond, and that is the case with Van Der Poel as he was joined by Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Rider Zdenek Stybar the next day, his average pace was about 31.6 km/h.
Van Der Poel will only resume full training once he has completed healed, these indoor and outdoor sessions are certainly good signs but there are no absolute results that can be guaranteed. Any slight indication of pain will set him back a good amount, and that will take an even longer time to recover.
View this post on Instagram
As the 2022 cycling is off to an aggressive start, Van Der Poel is in a race against time. The opening week of the classics is slated for the end of February but that is not the case for Van Der Poel. Recovery is a must for him, as that is the only way he will compete in the classics and Strade Bianche which will start in early March. If he gets better in time then he would have a lot on his table, Milan-San Remo (March 18th), Tour of Flanders (April 3), and even the delayed Paris-Roubaix (April 17).
Van Der Poel is treading on very thin ice, he could make his way to full recovery, but overdoing it could also lead him back to complete rest. We hope that he makes a quick recovery and how well the rest of the Alpecin-Fenix team will perform this season. Stay tuned for more updates!
Featured Image Via YouTube/Live Cycling
