Van der Poel seems to spend his entire on one sort of bike or another and he was last seen in competition on the dirt taking good results in races at Albstadt and Nove Mesto, winning the short track cross-country events at both, but falling a bit short of the top riders in the longer form.
He then went to an altitude training camp in Le Plage, with his next race back the Tour de Suisse ahead of the Tour de France and Olympics.
"It was good to be back on the mountain bike. The level was acceptable and I did some good results," said van der Poel at the conclusion of the altitude camp.
“The main goals are basically Tour de France and the Olympics, which is the biggest goal of the summer for me."
With the Tokyo Olympics pushed back from its 2020 slot and continued uncertainty around the political will to hold the event, there are still some hurdles for the Games to be held, but van der Poel remains focused on mountain bike gold in Japan.
“It’s a goal I’ve been working towards for a couple of years now," said van der Poel, "so that would be the highlight hopefully of the summer.”
The Tour de France is the major test ahead of that, van der Poel's first participation at the race and indeed, first time at any Grand Tour. His ambitions are a bit muted for this year's race, the Dutch star has been touted as a green jersey candidate, and will start as the favourite in a number of different stages after his success on the road to date.
"It's difficult I think, I haven’t really looked at the stages yet but for sure I will pick some and try to get a stage win," said van der Poel. "It’s my first time ever riding a Grand Tour, so it would be a success if I can win a stage."
