While many triathlon fans wait for Mathieu van der Poel to do his first long-distance triathlon – he recently announced he wants to try it in the future – the Dutch professional cyclist is stringing together one victory after another. Last weekend, he won the Tour of Flanders after an impressive solo. Based on the article below – written by Triathlon Today – Van der Poel did not take it easy the day after.
–Original editorial by Triathlon Today–
Anyone who thought Mathieu van der Poel would take it easy for a while after his stunning victory at the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen), where he triumphed after an impressive solo last weekend, is wrong: that very night he flew back to Spain and the next day he got on his bike and put on his running shoes.
Van der Poel makes no secret of the fact that someday – when his career as a pro rider is over – he wants to do a Long Distance triathlon, and that was evident a day after the Tour of Flanders. After all, his so-called “rest day” looked pretty impressive: Together with Freddy Ovett – a well-known Zwifter and friend of Van der Poel –, he got on his bike for a ride of almost 80 kilometers. Despite the nearly 1,000 altitude meters, both still rode an average of 31.4 kilometers per hour.
That was still not enough exercise for a rest day, because after that both men ran another 13.5 kilometers at a pace of 4:36 minutes per kilometer.
