Mathieu Van Der Pol believes that the expected chaos in the men's road race at the 2024 Paris Olympics will work in his favor. With a small field of 90 riders in Saturday's race, no team will be able to control the peloton in the 273-km race.

"It's a wait-and-see situation for me because it's a small team, but it's going to be an uncontrollable race," van der Pol told Wielerfritz. 'It depends on the legs, but I think it's in my favor. You can't always be on your guard during the race. It could happen out of the blue and you have to be there for sure when it does."

Van der Pol is among the gold medal contenders, along with Belgians Remco Evenpol and Wout Van Aert, and local hopeful Julien Alaphilippe.

"The role of favorite to win is not so bad," van der Pol said. 'In the Classic, it's because it helps my team control the race. That's the big difference, but the goal itself remains the same."

The Dutchman will be looking to replicate his performance at last year's Glasgow World Championships, where he won the rainbow jersey in a long-distance attack. As he did last summer, Van der Pol rode the Tour de France with the support of Alpecin Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen to a hat-trick of stage wins.

Van der Pol's form is a mystery, but he has had a remarkable season in the rainbow jersey. Despite having raced only seven times prior to the Tour, van der Pol won the Tour de Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and E3 Harelbeke in dominating fashion, and finished on the podium in Ghent-Wevelgem and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"I came back fresh from the Tour, but that doesn't mean I can use my Glasgow World Championship legs again," van der Pol said. Of course, every year is different. Of course, every year is different. I try to stay true to the preparation I did in Glasgow, which is not exactly the same, but I try to remember that."

Van der Pol confirmed that they will not be scouting the finish circuit, which will focus on the short, steep climb of Montmartre. For Thursday's official reconnaissance, cyclists will have to ride the circuit in convoy at speeds of up to 30 km/h. Van der Pol hoped to train on Thursday in the vicinity of his hotel in Saint-Lambert, southwest of Paris.

"I don't think it will help at all. It only makes sense to do it at higher racing speeds," Van der Pol said of the recon, according to AD. 'I don't think it's worth the one-and-a-half hour trip. I would rather train here and then rest."

"Of course, I would have preferred to see it in person, but that's a consideration. But I'm sure we have some good ideas. There are lots of videos and the national coach gives me all the information. Normally, that climb should suit me. My ambition to win here is very big."

Van der Pol had never competed in a road race at the Olympics before and had focused on mountain racing in Tokyo After crashing at the Games three years ago, Van der Pol had long considered competing in both mountain biking and road racing in Paris. Ultimately he chose to focus exclusively on road racing, but suggested that mountain biking might be his goal again at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"Unfortunately, I don't ride mountain bikes anymore," he said. 'The last time I rode was at the Olympic test event in September. But I am thinking about the Olympics in Los Angeles in four years and making mountain biking a big goal there. By that time, I will have another great goal to finish my career with. "

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