Mathieu van der Poel to miss Benelux Tour as Alpecin-Fenix predict World Championships and Paris-Roubaix involvement

Mathieu van der Poel will be unable to defend his 2020 Benelux Tour due to his ongoing back problem.

While the Alpecin-Fenix rider will miss this year’s race, his team believe there is “no reason” to doubt his involvement in this season’s World Championships and the Paris-Roubaix event later in 2021.

The injury was confirmed two weeks ago when he curtailed his involvement in a team training camp in Italy, and reports suggest he has endured difficulties since May.

Van der Poel has now had to reduce his obligations in light of his struggles.

“Mathieu van der Poel was hoping to defend his title at the Benelux Tour, but unfortunately he will have to sit out the race. Due to his back problems, Van der Poel hasn’t been able to train optimally in recent weeks and the Benelux Tour comes too soon,” Alpecin-Fenix said in a statement.

“His adjusted training and race schedule for the coming months will be made according to his recovery. At this moment there is no reason to question participations [sic] at the World Championships and Paris-Roubaix.”

The World Championships road race will take place in Belgium on September 26, with Paris-Roubaix a week later on October 3. That leaves the 26-year-old Dutchman with the Tour of Britain and Tour of Luxembourg as potential events to prepare for the two races.