Mathieu van der Pol has confirmed his participation in the UCI Gravel World Championships in Veneto next weekend. The Dutch rider will compete in the elite men's race on October 9, along with Peter Sagan, Nicolas Roche, and Alex Howes.

Van der Pol will also compete in the Serenissima gravel race in Italy next week, along with Alpecin Deceuninck teammate Gianni Vermersch. Both will finish the 2022 season in Italy and could campaign cyclocross in the winter.

"We'll write a little history on Sunday," van der Pol said.

"For me, this is the first gravel race of my career. But it's not the first time at all. I trained on a gravel bike for the first time today and it felt like something between a road race and cyclocross. My adaptation to the bike wasn't too bad."

The 27-year-old has won four cyclocross world titles and was the 2019 European cross-country champion in mountain biking. He was also junior road world champion in Florence in 2013.

Van der Poel has denied any ambitions for a gravel world title, but he will likely be competing against the best gravel racers in the sport.

"I enjoy being there. If I feel good on Sunday, of course I will do my best to get the best result."

The Gravel World Championships will be Van der Pol's first competitive appearance since his ill-fated trip to the Road World Championships in Wollongong.

Van der Pol later pleaded guilty to two assault charges and was fined $1,500 before leaving Australia. Despite the arrest, the Alpecin-Desseuninck rider started the road race but abandoned after the first 40 km.

"Anyway, I should have informed someone, the front desk or something. It was just getting late and I wanted to sleep," van der Pol, who returned to Europe last week, told reporters. I tried to fix it myself, but that was completely wrong. Unfortunately, I can't change it anymore."

At that point, van der Pol would not say what his plans were for the rest of the road season. He said, "I would like to do something, but it depends on my future recovery."