Mathieu van der Poel makes his season debut in Milano-Sanremo, after he was sidelined for months due to a lingering back injury.
Last week it was already announced that Van der Poel was working towards a return at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali (March 22-26), but the news suddenly came out that the the Dutchman would already start in Milano-Sanremo.
The big question now is what ambitions Van der Poel will have when it comes to attacking. The team says it has no expectations and Milano-Sanremo will be used instead for training.
A team statement read: “Van der Poel’s training in recent weeks has been satisfactory and his back issues seem to be gradually disappearing.
“Nevertheless, the team management do not want to put any pressure on the four-time cyclocross world champion; he will participate without expectations or ambitions.
“The 293 km race was preferred over a training session on Saturday to get some extra race kilometres in the legs. After Milano-Sanremo, Van der Poel will stay in Italy for the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.”
