Mathieu Van der Poel has returned to full training in Spain, but will not compete in the Catalunya Volta if the race is held as planned. According to Wielerflits.nl (opens in new tab), Van der Poel is a week recovering from the flu and will fly to Belgium on Saturday to prepare for the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Alpecin Phoenix has not yet decided on Van der Poel's program for next week as it awaits confirmation on which races will take place, given the government's efforts to contain the coronavirus infection Covid-19. Nokelle Coase, Dunain GP, and the Breden Koksijde Classic are possibilities, said team manager Christoph Rudhoeft.

"Of course, his condition today is a bit lower than it was a year ago, but that makes sense. The program for Van der Pol for the next few weeks isn't 100 percent set in stone yet. What is certain is that he will not be running the Volta a Catalunya."

"Mathieu was sick for a week. That makes him a little weak, but it's not a disaster. We still have a few weeks before the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix."

The coronavirus situation has also affected Van der Pol's preparations for the classics. Mathieu would not have made it to Strade Bianche, but he might have competed in Milan-San Remo."

"The team is still in the process of preparing for the Paris-Roubaix classic. Both the team and Mathieu were looking forward to his debut in Primavera. He would have competed in Omloop (Het Nieuwsblad) as well.

Depending on how the racing season unfolds, Van der Pol's program could also include the E3 Binckbank Classic and the Dwar de Hlaanderen before the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.