Mathieu van der Poel says he is ‘ready’ to take the rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Australia

Mathieu van der Poel is feeling confident ahead of the UCI Road World Championships in Australia.

Speaking to Sporza about his success, van der Poel said, “It’s nice to win back. They weren’t the biggest races, but they weren’t the easiest to win either.”

Van der Poel has been preparing for the World Championships in a series of training camps as he gets ready to lead the Dutch men’s squad in Wollongong – where he flies to after the Primus Classic.

Looking ahead, he said, “I can’t control the opposition and the course at the World Cup, but I do. And I’m ready for it.”

The 27-year-old will be among the favourites for the rainbow jersey, along with the likes of Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar.

They have been competing in Canada, and van der Poel’s been asked if he has done any homework by watching them in action.

“No, I did see the results pass. But it’s not like I sat down in front of my TV”, he said.

“I also saw the sprint between Pogacar and Van Aert in the Grand Prix of Montreal on Twitter. I saw a very strong Pogacar, who started sprinting from far. But I suspect it was a very difficult race.”

Having never been world champion on the road with the elite, van der Poel insists he is focusing on himself, saying, “In any case, it is a goal to conquer that rainbow jersey one day.”

“That will not be easy. The World Cup is always a very difficult and special race to win”, he said.

He will also form part of the mixed relay team in Australia, and he admits he needed convincing, saying, “It was Annemiek van Vleuten (his Dutch team mate) who talked it into my head. She believes that we have a good chance of winning the world title if the men’s team is strong enough. That is why I applied for the Mixed Relay.”