Mathieu van der Poel withdraws from the mountain bike event

Mathieu van der Poel announced Wednesday May 15 his participation in the Tour de France before the Paris Olympic Games, where he will only participate in the road event. “ This is the most logical choice “, declared the reigning world champion in a press release from his team Alpecin. After winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the spring, the Dutchman has hesitated for a long time in recent weeks about his program for this summer and the possibility of combining road and mountain biking at the Olympics. “ This year the combination is too complicated. My first part of the season was quite long with first the cyclo-cross and then, after a short break, the classics campaign up to Liège-Bastogne-Liège “, he explained. “ If I wanted to concentrate entirely on mountain biking and be fully prepared, I would have to start next weekend in Nove Mesto, the Czech MTB World Cup stage. In consultation with my team, I opted instead for a longer rest period before starting preparation for the Tour de France and the Olympic road race without being pressed for time », added the grandson of Raymond Poulidor who had fallen during the mountain bike event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. On the Grande Boucle, he wants to once again help the Alpecin sprinter, Jasper Philipsen, to win the green jersey while aiming for a stage victory himself. The Dutchman will then be one of the big favorites for the road race at the Paris Olympics on Saturday August 3 on a long and demanding course which suits him perfectly.

Published on: 05/15/2024 – 5:12 p.m.

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Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel. Getty Images – Alex Broadway

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