Mathieu van der Pol said he hopes to compete and finish both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this season.

The Dutch rider was said to be making his Giro debut this May, but his participation is not yet fully confirmed. He told AD.nl (opens in new tab) that he thinks he has a good chance of taking the leader's pink jersey in the first week of racing.

"The Giro is definitely an option," he said. I'm not 100% sure yet, but the combination of the Giro and the Tour is definitely on my mind."

"The first week is very attractive with the chance for the pink jersey. That's the main reason."

The first stage of the Giro in Budapest ends with a punchy finish climb, which suits Van der Pol very well, a similar scenario to the one that won him the Mule de Bretagne last July and the yellow jersey of the Tour.

He added that if he were to ride the Giro, he would ride to the end and do the same at the Tour. Last year, he abandoned the race midway through in order to focus on the Tokyo Olympics.

"Actually, last year I wanted to finish the Tour," he said. I told the team that I wasn't going to go down the mountain after 10 days. This year I intend to finish both the Giro and the Tour."

In Van der Pol's near future, however, he plans to compete in this week's five-stage Settimana Coppi e Bartali, aiming for full race fitness before the cobbled classic. Alpecin Phoenix coach Christophe Roudhoft insists that his team will not miss out on a chance to win a stage.

Van der Pol, a last-minute addition to the Alpecin Phoenix roster for the Milan-San Remo race, was originally scheduled to make his season debut in the Coppi e Bartali race after taking an extended rest due to lingering back pain. When the team announced his entry, he said he would race "without expectations or ambition," but the Dutch rider showed his form by finishing third in the Milano-Sanremo race.

When asked by Wielerflits (opens in new tab) how much of an indication that is for the classics ahead, Roodhoft replied: "That's the big question. But the races in Flanders and Roubaix are different. In San Remo, Mathieu was able to ride unnoticed in the peloton for 250 km.

"But to answer your question, it remains to be seen. We can only conclude that he is on the right track formatively. Coppi e Bartali is also in his legs and should be ready to take on the role of classical leader."

Van der Pol had been suffering from back pain since last May and was diagnosed with a swollen disc in December; he took January off the bike and was able to return to his home trainer at the beginning of February.

Asked if there had been any long-term discomfort since his return in Milano-Sanremo, Ludhoft replied to Wielerfritz, "Nothing out of the ordinary after a 300 km race."

The longest stage in the Settimana Coppi e Bartali is a short 166 km, but the 2.1 class competition, which runs from March 22-26, will feature climbs for most of its dates.

"Our initial approach to the Flanders Classics remains the same: to develop the hardness and rhythm of the race.

"But when the opportunity presents itself, I will take it. We never do, and it doesn't fit the current image of cycling. But I'm not going for the final classification; if I can win one or two stages, great."