Van der Poelโ a contender as โNetherlandsโค Eyes Mountain Bike World Cup Gold 30 Years After Historic Win
CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND – Mathieu van der Poel is being viewed as a serious contender for gold at the UCIโ Mountain Bike World Championships โin Crans-Montana, with both his โคnationalโ coachโฃ and bettingโ markets indicating strong possibilitiesโ for a Dutch victory.This comes three decades after Bart โคBrentjens secured the Netherlands’โฃ first-everโข world title in mountain biking inโ 1995.
The absence of Olympic champion Tom Pidcock, currently โฃcompeting in the vuelta a Espaรฑa, has leveled the โplaying field, creating an open race where multiple riders are considered capable of winning or finishing in the top five. According โขto former Dutch rider Gerben โde Knegt, now a coach, Van der Poel’s recent performance and self-belief โฃpositionโ him as a key โคathlete to โwatch. “His sixth place in Les Gets, and especially the course there, has convinced me that it is โreally possible.And โhe โis convinced โof it himself,” de knegt stated.
The demanding course,featuring ten-minute laps โคover nine rounds for a total race time of approximately 90 minutes,favors riders who can maintainโ aโค strong pace โคover a prolonged โคperiod. De Knegt believes this plays to โฃVan der Poel’s strengths, particularly โhis abilityโ to push hardโค on extended climbs. โข”On โthe โฃroad, Mathieu is not a pure climber. Butโฃ thes are three-minute climbs. They โคlean against theโค Flemish slopes. They areโค allโ decided by driving a lot in red. And โคthat โisโข something Mathieu โreally can do very well,though.”
Vanโฃ derโ Poel himself acknowledged the challenge ahead, stating, “Hopefully a lot, โbutโค that is โof course a question mark, also for me. Hopefully itโข will be a good day โandโฃ a goodโข result.” The race is expected to be closely contested,with theโ lengthโ potentially becoming a โขdeciding factor โas riders battle for position โคthroughout the demanding course.