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  "description": "Mathieu van der Poel made a highly successful debut to his 2026 road racing season by winning Omloop Nieuwsblad (on his first attempt) on Saturday. The second race of Opening Weekend, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, was still a possibility for the former world champion even as he went about his post-race duties.\n\n\"We will decide that later in the hotel,\" Van der Poel said in the mixed zone. \"We wanted to do this race first and then we'll see about tomorrow. We also have a good chance of winning tomorrow",
  "path": "/van-der-poel-not-tempted-to-race-kuurne/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-28T19:36:56.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "tags": [
    "winning Omloop Nieuwsblad",
    "team lineup"
  ],
  "textContent": "Mathieu van der Poel made a highly successful debut to his 2026 road racing season by winning Omloop Nieuwsblad (on his first attempt) on Saturday. The second race of Opening Weekend, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, was still a possibility for the former world champion even as he went about his post-race duties.\n\n\"We will decide that later in the hotel,\" Van der Poel said in the mixed zone. \"We wanted to do this race first and then we'll see about tomorrow. We also have a good chance of winning tomorrow with Jasper or Kaden. Maybe I'll just do a long workout.\"\n\nA few hours later, Alpecin-Premier Tech confirmed that Van der Poel would not make the last-minute addition to his programme, by way of a team lineup that does not include him. Alpecin-Premier Tech will instead put its full strength behind reigning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne champion Jasper Philipsen, with Kaden Groves as a second option, both of whom had a frustrating day out on Saturday.",
  "title": "Van der Poel not tempted to race Kuurne",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-28T19:58:17.359Z"
}