Van der Poel out of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with flu

LAGOS PORTUGAL FEBRUARY 19 Start Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team AlpecinFenix Interview Portimo City during the 46th Volta ao Algarve 2020 Stage 1 a 1956km stage from Portimo to Lagos VAlgarve2020 on February 19 2020 in Lagos Portugal Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Mathieu van der Poel opened his road season at the Volta ao Algarve (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Mathieu van der Poel's 2020 spring Classics debut has been delayed after the Dutchman was forced out of Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, his Alpecin-Fenix team has announced.

The Dutchman, who made his 2020 road debut at last week's Volta ao Algarve, was suffering from flu and a high fever on Wednesday night, the team announced as they posted their squad for the race to Instagram.

Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.