Training on the road this week at Denia's Alpecin Deceuninck camp gave Mathieu van der Poel some rest from the back problems that have hampered his recent cyclocross runs, but the Dutchman He admitted that this is an issue that he will have to manage for the rest of his career.

Van der Poel's back problems stem from a fall in the mountain bike competition at the Tokyo Olympics, an injury that forced him to suspend his cyclocross campaign last winter. After the 2022 road season, which included a second win at the Tour of Flanders, the problem appeared to be largely resolved, but he was once again limited on the cyclocross circuit.

"This has been going on for almost two years, ever since the fall at Tokyo. There must have been something I didn't notice at the time. I still can't say for sure what is causing the pain," Van der Pol said, according to Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab).

Unlike a year ago, his injuries have not prevented him from training on the road, but they continue to surface when van der Pol competes in cyclocross races, casting doubt on his ability to mount a solid challenge to Wout van Aert for the world title in Hoogerheide next month raises questions about his ability to mount a solid challenge to Wout van Aert for the world title in Hoogerheide next month.

"I hope to at least be able to fight van Aert at full strength, but I'm in pain again. This will probably remain my Achilles heel. [Not on the road, but in cyclo-cross, and in mountain biking as well. I hope to continue mountain biking until the Olympics in Paris, but if the back pain persists, as I already said, I may not do it."

Van der Pol is more certain about his road program for 2023 and has a similar schedule to his eternal rival Van Aert, both of whom will start the season on March 4 at Strade Bianche.

Van der Pol will then compete in the Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix.

As Cycling News confirmed in October, Van der Pol will compete in just one Grand Tour in 2023, lining out in the Tour de Suisse to prepare for the Tour de France. He vowed to go to Paris for the first time in the 2023 Tour, but rejected the idea of going for the green jersey, preferring to focus on trying to win a stage.

"I hope to get to Paris soon. Last year I was too tired after the Giro, and the year before I was thinking about the Olympics. I'm not interested in the green jersey for the time being," said van der Pol, who will be aiming for the rainbow jersey on the road at the world championships in Glasgow in August.

"It's a course that usually suits me, I've already been on the podium [at the 2018 European Championships] and the World Championships is always my goal and will be again this year."