Mathieu Van Der Poel in Mtb at the Tokyo Olympics Reading time: < 1 minutes
There is a more than concrete possibility that Mathieu van der Poel, who was crowned world champion on the road on Sunday, will race the Short Track on Thursday. In these hours the Dutch he is recovering together with his parents and partner Roxannethe program was to reach the Mtb national team on Thursday, but the fact that the XCC qualifications have been canceled seems to push him towards a change of plans.
«Van der Poel will calmly recover from the road race in the next few hours. So he will prepare with his times and at his own pace for Saturday’s race »expressly writes the Dutch federation in a press release about the XCO world championship.
Ma with the cancellation of qualifications – official from the evening of Monday 7 August – there is still a chance that Van der Poel lead the short track on Thursday. It is the Dutch federation itself that communicates it. «Since he doesn’t have to qualify on Tuesday, there’s the possibility that Mathieu will participate in the short track. This will then be decided at a later time.”.
Certainly the Short test, on the same track as the XCO, it would be a great opportunity to traingiven that van der Poel hasn’t raced Mtb races since 2021. His goal on Saturday is to get a ticket to Paris 2024, so he should finish in the top 10-15 of the XCO, but starting at the back of the grid.
By becoming world champion in mountain biking on Saturday, Mvdp would complete a unique trilogy since he is already a reigning champion in cyclo-cross and on the road. “But if I have to be honest: it’s not a goal”he said on Sunday.
