Mathieu van der Pol has returned from a long injury layoff and has been riding both indoors and outdoors the past few days.

The Dutch rider has been consistently increasing his distance over the past week, although it may not be the training of an elite rider.

Van der Pol is trying to overcome a back injury that plagued him late last year and ruined his cyclocross campaign this winter. He was diagnosed with a swollen disc and told that complete rest was his only chance for a full recovery.

Deciding to cancel the World Cyclocross Championships and not take a definite rest period, Van der Pol returned to his home trainer for three consecutive days on January 29 and did not ride for almost a month.

He completed a modest 19.5 km ride on Zwift, doubled it the next day, and finished the block with a 27 km ride on January 31, just after Tom Pidcock won the cyclocross world title.

Van der Pol then took a day off, grabbed his bike, and headed out on the open road. He rode from his home outside Antwerp to the Alpecin Phoenix service course for about two hours and back again. He rode 64 km in the rain at an average speed of 33 km/h.

The next day, he ran the 75-km loop with Zdenek Štival of Quick Step Alfa Vinyl, averaging 31.6 km/h.

Van der Pol took Friday off and ran his longest distance of the year on Saturday. He averaged 31.5 km/h and 229 watts average power.

The Van der Pol camp has indicated that Van der Pol will return to full training when he is completely pain-free, and this week seems important in that regard. The three-day indoor and outdoor blocks have been completed and the distances are steadily increasing. However, if the pain returns, it could set him back even further, and Van der Pol is walking a tightrope before the Spring Classic.

The so-called "opening weekend" of the Classic takes place at the end of February, which, like Strade Bianche in early March, which he won last year, is too early for Van der Pol. Instead, the main Classics races will follow, Milan-San Remo on March 18, Flanders-Tour de Flanders on April 3, and Paris-Roubaix on April 17.