The mountain biking world was eagerly awaiting the World Championships in Nové Město na Moravě over the weekend to see what Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who has won a slew of medals in various disciplines, could do.
Everyone was disappointed. Van der Poel crashed twice in the first six minutes and retired on the third lap. Alpecin-Deceuninck has not yet released information on the severity of the injuries.
The 30-year-old Dutchman had not competed in a mountain bike race for almost two years and this was his first World Championship stage since 2021. The first crash came when van der Poel tried to pass a group from the outside on the opening lap, but lost his balance while trying to lean on another rider and crashed into the barrier and onto the ground. In the second incident, he lost his balance again on the pump track section of the course and flew over the handlebars, landing again on the ground when his bike hit the barrier.
It was a total failure for Alpecin-Deceuninck, as van der Poel's teammate Samuel Gaze went off the track on lap five and was forced to retire.
The victory went to American Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing), followed by Frenchman Mathis Azzaro (AVC Aix-en-Provence) and Swiss Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon). Blevins also leads the series overall.
View this post on Instagram
