Morning coffee drinkers in Bassano del Grappa's Piazza della Libertà on Monday saw Mathieu van der Pol recovering from the previous day's UCI Gravel World Championships with his Alpecin Desseuninck teammate Gianni Vermeersch.

Bronze medalist van der Pol and new world champion Vermeersch will stay in Veneto until Friday, when they will star in the second round of the Serenissima Classic, a gravel race exclusively for professional road riders.

But Van der Pol is not one to sit on his hands. Rather than spend his time on a quiet training ride, slowly leafing along the banks of the Brenta Valley, the Dutch rider decided that he would rather be racing. On Wednesday, he will compete in the Giro del Veneto road, the first of a three-part Ride the Dreamland series organized by Filippo Pozzato.

Alpecin Deceuninck called van der Poel's late decision to participate a "small surprise" when he announced the lineup Tuesday afternoon. He joins a strong team featuring 2021 winner Xander Moelis and Vuelta a España stage winner Jay Byrne, which also includes May's Giro d'Italia stage winner Stefano Aldani, Nicola Consi, and Cristian Sbaralli.

Van der Pol has not raced on the road since the World Championships in Australia, where he had the misfortune of being convicted of assault after an altercation with two teenage girls in a hotel the night before the race.

Prior to the World Championships, Van der Pol was in brilliant form, scoring hat tricks at the Grand Prix de Wallonie, Izegem Koers, and Studsprise Gerardsbergen.

From this form, it is clear that Van der Pol is the favorite to win Wednesday's race. Padua's vast Prato della Valle, where the finish was held in 2021, will be the starting point this time around. The route, just under 160 kilometers long, will pass through Colli Euganei before taking two laps around the beautiful finishing circuit around Vicenza.

Each 22-km lap climbs up to Alcugnano before descending through Santuario della Madonna di Monte Bellico (the 2015 Giro d'Italia tackled the climb from the other side).

A year ago, Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) finished second behind Moulisse in Padua, and he will be the favorite here as well. Along with Marc Hirschke, Davide Formolo, Alessandro Covi, and Diego Ulissi, the Italian has a very solid lineup.

Elsewhere, Miguel Angel Lopez is in Astana Premier Tech, while local favorite Samuele Battistella is out for the season. Davide Rebellin is also competing in the last race of his 30-year professional career. His last race will be Sunday's Veneto Classic.

Brian Coquard (Cofidis), Alessandro de Marchi, Sepp Vanmarcke (Israel Startup Nation), and Natnael Tesfazion (Drone Hopper Androni) are among the names in the peloton, while Arnaud de Lier ( Lot Soudal) was absent due to injury.

The relegation to the World Tour has been decided, but there are still points and stories to prove in the final stages of the road season. Van der Pol continues to provide a compelling narrative.