On Friday, Boy van Poppel will be back in cyclo-cross action at the Superprestige race in Diegem. The Duch Championships are also scheduled, provided it goes well in the Flemish Brabant race, the Trek Segafredo rider tells WielerFlits.

The junior world champion from 2006 started a tradition of participating in a few races between Christmas and New Year last winter even though it didn’t go as he has hoped. The oldest of the Van Poppel brothers abandoned most of his races. 

"I thought that I was pretty good, but I was given a lesson. Maybe I did underestimate how hard it is to get used to your cross bike and the soft tires.”

An uncertain Van Poppel has a better preparation this time. 

“On Wednesday after I return from my first training camp, I went to the group training of the national team. I have no idea whether Lars van der Haar and co will go full gas, but it's fun to see how you're doing and you can learn something in terms of technique. I have also deliberately had more intensity in my training while I mainly worked on my endurance last winter.”

For now, he knows that he will do the races in Diegem and Loenhout. Then the 28-year-old Van Poppel will evaluate his performances and decide the further program. 

"If I feel that it is very hard and I have to recover a lot, I won’t force anything. If it goes well, I can join the National Championships.” However, he won’t have any ambitions. “I just want to go deep for one hour. Don’t expect me to be in top 20 in the major races. If I just end up near the back, I'm very satisfied.”

From then on, the focus is entirely on the road season but this time not with the Tour Down Under. Instead, he begins in Argentina. 

"Two days after the Nationals, I go with the team on a training camp. Then we travel to the Tour de San Juan. Last year, I felt that my cyclo-cross had a big impact on my explosiveness. Let's hope the effect is the same this time. And otherwise it's still been a good occupational therapy, "Van Poppel concludes.

Cyclocross program for Boy van Poppel
Diegem (December 23) 
Loenhout (December 29) 
Bredene (December 30) 
Surhuisterveen (January 4) 
Nationals in Sint-Michielsgestel (January 8)