The mountain bike world eagerly awaited the World Cup stage in Nové Město na Moravě over the weekend, keen to see what Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), a multiple medal winner in various disciplines, could achieve.
Everyone was disappointed. Van der Poel crashed twice within the first six minutes and abandoned the race on the third lap. Alpecin-Deceuninck has not yet released information on the severity of his injuries.
The 30-year-old Dutchman had not participated in a mountain bike race for almost two years, and this was his first World Cup stage since 2021. The first crash occurred when van der Poel attempted to overtake the group from the outside on the opening lap, but lost balance while trying to lean on another rider, crashing against the barrier and the ground. In the second incident, he again lost balance in the track's pump track section and flew over the handlebars, landing on the ground again as his bike hit the barrier.
It was a complete disaster for Alpecin-Deceuninck, as van der Poel's teammate Samuel Gaze went off track on the fifth lap and was forced to abandon.
The victory went to American Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), followed by Frenchman Mathis Azzaro (AVC Aix-en-Provence) and Swiss rider Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon). Blevins also leads the overall series standings.
Here is a video from photos of today’s crash of Mathieu van der Poel, while Sporza is saying that the damage is greater than expected and the injuries can force MVDP to not to be able to participate at the Tour de France. 😭
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) May 25, 2025
Hoping for better info by Alpecin tomorrow. 🙏🏼
Thank… pic.twitter.com/zkJbZayPMy
