Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck) had certainly imagined his comeback in the Mountain Bike World Cup to be different. On his return to the off-road course in Nove Mesto, the race ended for the 30-year-old Dutchman after just a few minutes. Van der Poel, who started the race from 30th on the grid, initially tried to fight his way forwards through the field. The first serious incident occurred just three minutes into the race. The reigning road world champion overdid it in his race to catch up and crashed at the side of the track. As a result, he dropped back to 60th place. But that was not all: van der Poel went down again shortly before the finish. This time he rolled over spectacularly and landed hard in the dust. After this second crash, the Alpecin - Deceuninck pro decided to abandon the race and rolled off the track.
Van der Poel's mountain bike ambitions
The early retirement in Nove Mesto is a bitter setback for van der Poel's mountain bike ambitions. After his third triumph at Paris-Roubaix, the Dutchman had taken a break on the road bike and returned to the Mountain Bike World Cup. Van der Poel had already attempted a double start at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but had to retire from the mountain bike race after a crash. The return to Nove Mesto was supposed to be a successful change of pace in preparation for the road cycling season. Now the versatile professional cyclist has to make another attempt to prove his form on the off-road.
Blevins dominates in Nove Mesto
While van der Poel had to end the race prematurely, Christopher Blevins (Specialized) continued his impressive run in the World Cup. After his success in the short track the day before, the US American also won the cross-country race. On the penultimate lap, Blevins broke away from the leading group and won by seven seconds ahead of Mathis Azzaro (Origin). Victor Koretzky (Specialized) completed the podium in third place. It was Blevins' third victory in the fourth Cross-Country World Cup of the season.
Leon Weidner
Working student
