Mathieu van der Poel could be out for months, says father Adrie

DENDERMONDE BELGIUM DECEMBER 26 LR Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team JumboVisma and Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team Alpecin Fenix compete during the 2nd Dendermonde UCI CycloCross Worldcup 2021 Mens Elite CXWorldCup UCIcyclocrossWC on December 26 2021 in Dendermonde Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images
Mathieu van der Poel (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Adrie van der Poel has suggested that his son Mathieu van der Poel will not race “for months” due to an ongoing back injury, though he insisted that the Alpecin-Fenix rider’s participation in the Spring Classics was not in doubt.

Mathieu van der Poel suffered a recurrence of a longstanding back injury during the Heusden-Zolder Superprestige, his second cyclo-cross race of the winter, which he abandoned before the finish. He has not race since, although he reportedly returned to training on Saturday with a 60km ride north of Antwerp.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.