As far as Road World Championships warm-ups go, few riders will have done better than Mathieu van der Poel over the weekend. The Dutchman recorded a staggering 174km solo ride to glory on the final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg, underlining his form ahead of next Sunday's elite men's road race in Montreal.
The 2023 world champion had previously played down his chances of winning another rainbow jersey this week, saying that the course will "still be a little too difficult for me."
Will his pessimism prove to be ill-founded? That remains to be seen, but his mammoth ride in Luxembourg – a record for a solo ride this century – underlines his form and ambition.
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"It wasn't the plan before the start, but I actually found myself alone right from the beginning of the race, and I just wanted to ride at my own tempo all day long," Van der Poel said after his mind-boggling effort.
"At first I thought the pursuers were going to come back, but I just kept riding at my power output, and the gap grew again. That's when I decided to just go all out until the finish."
Van der Poel gained a five-minute gap over the peloton during the stage, which included over 3,000 metres of climbing – around 500 short of Sunday's road race. He eventually reached the finish over a minute ahead of anyone else, with Mikkel Honoré taking second on the day, 1:04 down.
"I had incredible legs today, but I think the past few days weren't really going the way I wanted. I was coming from Spain, maybe I trained a bit too much, and today I felt really good," Van der Poel said.
The race marked Van der Poel's first outing on the road since switching to the mountain bike for the Mountain Bike World Championships last month. He said he's lost some weight in anticipation of the Road Worlds, where he'll be facing off against stronger climbers such as Paul Seixas, Remco Evenepoel, and Isaac del Toro.
Following his sensational ride in Luxembourg, Van der Poel said his feeling is good, and that's what matters most as he heads into the final stretch of Worlds preparation.
"Above all, the sensations today – that's still important. I really like coming here; it's a truly nice race, well-organised, so I'm happy to win the final stage."
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