World Championships: Van der Poel can read and feel a race and knows when it's the right time to go, says Dutch coach

The Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel trains in Yorkshire ahead of the 2019 World Championships elite men's road race
The Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel trains in Yorkshire ahead of the 2019 World Championships elite men's road race (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

In Mathieu van der Poel, the Netherlands have one of the overwhelming favourites to take the rainbow jersey in Harrogate, Yorkshire, at the World Championships elite men's road race on Sunday.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.