Mathieu van der Poel returns to racing on Saturday, testing his Tour de France form and gravel skills in the Belgian one-day race, the 41km off-road "Doire d'Het Hagelin".

The Alpecin-Desseuninck rider last raced in mid-April when he won Paris-Roubaix. He has since rested and is training at high altitude for the Tour de France and the World Championships that follow.

Instead of taking part in the eight-day Tour de Suisse, the Dutch star opted for a week of racing in Belgium. There are also unconfirmed reports that he may compete in the June 25 national championships before heading to the Tour de France.

"I would rather go all out for victory in Belgium than stay in Groupet in Switzerland," Van der Pol insists.

"Taking into account the time trial, I think Switzerland and Belgium have about the same number of race days."

Despite the two-month race hiatus, Van der Pol is still considered a strong contender for the 2017 winner of the Doire d'Or Het Hagelan.

Alexander Kristoff (Uno X), Yves Lampert (Soudal-Quick Step), and Sepp Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech) will also participate, along with 2021 winner Rasmus Tiller (Uno X).

The 177-km Doir Door Het Högelrun runs between the fortresses of Earshot and Diest, with 14 short climbs and 13 off-road sections, for a total of 41 km of gravel roads.

"Mathieu will be the key," former cyclocross champion turned TV cycling commentator Sven Nys told sporza.be.

"I don't know how he will feel after being away from racing for so long, but he is a former winner and will be looking for second place.

"These races are close to home, so that will be a factor, and races like this suit his style of attack."

"The final circuit has a lot of short climbs and hardly a meter of flat," Nys added.

"The tough gravel climbs of Prinsenbosch, Zichem, and the final climb to the citadel at Diest will make for great TV coverage.

Warm, dry weather is expected, dusty and, as Nys noted, visibility will be quite limited.

"If you get delayed by a breakdown, you have to wade through clouds of dust and move forward. That is not an easy task. When it rains, the bike feels like it has a grip on the route. "The drier it gets, the more spectacular the course becomes."