Van der Poel disappointed after the XCO WC: the result and his words (also on the rest of the season and on cyclocross)

Anyone who followed the XCO World Championship in Crans-Montana might have hoped for yet another exploit from Mathieu Van der Poel, this time also in mountain biking. The Dutchman started from the fifth row and, in no time, quickly moved up to the front positions, right in the leading group. But then something switched off in him (in a race that offered many other surprises) and he faded away.

In the end, Van der Poel brought home a 29th place, far from the rainbow jersey he was dreaming of. A negative surprise, of course, considering his World Cup result in Les Gets just two weeks ago (when he finished sixth after starting around the 40th position). The Dutchman commented on his performance to NOS, in an interview reported by Sporza:

“The start was a dream scenario, but I simply had a bad day.”

Was he perhaps “burned out” by that initial comeback?

“No, not really. At least, that wasn’t my feeling. There are no excuses. It just wasn’t my day. For a while now, I haven’t felt at my best. In training, I notice I don’t have the same endurance as before. Mentally, it was a long race. Luckily, mountain biking is the only discipline where, even with bad legs, you can still enjoy yourself a bit. I never thought of abandoning. I was already here, and stopping wouldn’t have changed anything. The mountain bike world title remains my dream. I still have a few years ahead of me. I’ll keep trying.”

And for the rest of the season?

“Nothing. Rest. Already after the Renewi Tour, I had decided this would be my last race.”

So will we see him again in cyclocross, maybe in December?

“Yes, probably yes, but now the bike will stay aside for a while.”

Dai un’occhiata alle altre notizie uscite qui su Universo Sportivo e rimanete aggiornati sui social con Universo Calcistico.