Mathieu van der Poel hopes World Championships will help him deliver in Paris-Roubax

With just a week between the men’s road race and the delayed Monument, can Van der Poel bounce back?

Mathieu van der Poel at the 2021 World Championships
Mathieu van der Poel at the 2021 World Championships
(Image credit: Kristof Ramon - Pool/Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel hopes the brutal World Championships road race will help him perform in Paris-Roubaix next weekend. 

Dutch star Van der Poel has been struggling with a back injury in the second half of the 2021, but still came back to a promising performance at the World Championships.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.