Mathieu van der Poel will miss Opening Weekend because of illness, his team have announced.
The Dutch superstar had been set to race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne this weekend, but he has come down with flu and high fever.
Van der Poel was favourite for the Belgian one-day races, after a phenomenal cyclocross season that saw him retain his world champion’s jersey.
His Alpecin-Fenix team announced on Twitter: "Mathieu van der Poel will not be at the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this weekend. Van der Poel has the flu and because of high fever starting Wednesday night, he won't be able to race."
The bookies had Van der Poel down as 2/1 favourite for Omloop on Saturday (February 29), after he made is road racing return at the Volta ao Algarve last week.
Van der Poel, 25, dominated the cyclocross season, winning 24 out of the 25 races he entered.
After taking a two-week break, Van der Poel then started his road season in Portugal where he was working in a support role for Sacha Modolo.
His best result was 33rd on the second stage on the way to the summit of Alto de Fóia.
The Alpecin-Fenix team will now be made up of Petr Vakoč, Otto Vergaerde, Dries De Bondt, Floris Detier, Kristian Sbaragli, and Scott Thwaites.
Van der Poel's next race is scheduled to be Strade-Bianche and Milan San-Remo.
>>> Annemiek van Vleuten: ‘I don’t feel more pressure in the rainbow jersey, just more motivated’
He is also expected to race the Volta a Catalunya, then Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Brabatnse Pijl, Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallone.
This summer he will be stepping away from the road bike however, as he is targeting the Olympic gold medal in the mountain bike event in Tokyo, before looking to the cyclocross season once again.
-
-
Jasper De Buyst uses Twitter to search for cyclists after he was hit by driver
The Belgian's Vuelta a España participation is now in jeopardy
By Jonny Long •
-
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Everything you need to know about Jason Kenny
The British rider has six Olympic gold medals to his name and will be looking to add to his tally in Japan
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
'It was a bit boring in the beginning & all of a sudden we were racing all day': Mathieu van der Poel didn't plan to join Tour de France stage seven breakaway
The Dutch superstar followed rivals into the breakaway to ensure he kept his yellow jersey for one more day
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Mathieu van der Poel's dream comes true as he takes Tour de France yellow jersey, but wishes PouPou was here for a photo
The Dutchman was overcome with emotion after swiping bonus seconds and pulling off 'dream scenario' to take the race lead
By Jonny Long •
-
Mathieu van der Poel wins stage two of Tour de France to take yellow
Dutchman soloed to victory after attacking in the final kilometre
By Chris Marshall-Bell •
-
Mathieu van der Poel opens world of possibilities after promise he'll do everything he can to win a Tour de France stage
The Dutchman says he wants to race in the attacking style he always does, to entertain both himself and the fans
By Jonny Long •
-
Ranking the Tour de France 2021 special edition team kits
Here are all the one-off kits, including Alpecin-Fenix, Bora-Hansgrohe and Qhubeka-NextHash
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Racing against Van der Poel and Van Aert 'is like MotoGP', says Oliver Naesen
The Belgian marvels at the year-round top-level of the two rivals
By Jonny Long •
-
Mathieu van der Poel abandons Tour de Suisse 2021
The superstar rider won back-to-back stages but has now pulled out of the race
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Mathieu van der Poel: It was a super fun stage, especially with the rain
The Dutch champion said he enjoyed being back on the road bike after focussing on the MTB
By Alex Ballinger •
