Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) has announced his November race schedule ahead of his return to cyclocross on Sunday at the Superprestige round in Ruddervoorde.

Sunday's race will be the 24-year-old's first day of competition since the Famenne Ardenne Classic on October 6, his final event of the road season.

Van der Pol will compete not only in Rudelfourde, but also in the UCI World Cup races in November (Tabor and Koksijde) and the DVV Trophy opener (Hamme and Kortrijk). Next week, the European Championships in Silber, Italy, are also on the schedule, as are two other races.

"After the Famenne Ardennes Classic, I took a week off the bike completely," van der Pol said in a team press release, "and resumed training again in mid-October. Of course, this is in anticipation of the cyclocross season, but so far he has done little special "cross" training. I think I've ridden my cross bike maybe four times.

Van der Pol's words coincide with what he said on the Belgian radio program De Tribune on Tuesday. The Dutch rider said that he needs rest and would rather return when his form is at an acceptable level than start the cyclocross season badly.

He had originally planned to open the season on Friday at the Koppenberg Cross, but called it a "heavy opener" and chose the sand course in Rudervolde instead.

"Yes, I want to win right away," he said. I don't think you can compete in cyclocross except by winning races." I need competitions to get back to my top level.

"Of course, following the past few weeks, two things have impressed me. Of course, Eli Iserbyt has made great strides and is the man of the moment as a result. But Tom Pidock also made a solid impression in his last race.

"I think Sunday will be a decisive battle with Eli. I think Pidock will last a long time. But more than that, these are two riders who always assume their strength and therefore do not hesitate to race hard. In that respect, their style is similar to mine. I'm looking forward to it, to be honest."]

Sunday, November 3: Telenet Superprestige, Rudervoorde

Sunday, November 10: UEC European Championships, Silber

Monday, November 11: Lectavit Jarmarktkross, Neil

Saturday, November 16: UCI World Cup, Tabor

Sunday, November 17: DVV Trophy, Flandrien Cross, Hamme

Saturday, November 23: Ambiance Cross, Vachte [30 Wachtebeke

Sunday, November 24: UCI World Cup, Koksijde

Saturday, November 30: DVV Trophy, Kortrijk [35