Van der Poel postpones his return to MTB by one week

It was expected to see Mathieu van der Poel compete on a mountain bike this week at the German Bike the Rock event in Heubach. The organization announced it in April, but it seems that will not happen after all.

Van der Poel postpones his return to MTB: won't be in Heubach but aims for Nové Město

The highly anticipated return of Mathieu van der Poel to mountain bike discipline will have to wait another week. Although the organization of the German Bike the Rock event in Heubach had enthusiastically announced his participation this weekend (May 18), the Dutch champion will ultimately not start in this German Bundesliga race. The truth is that Van der Poel and the Alpecin-Deceuninck team never officially confirmed their presence.

According to WielerFlits, Van der Poel is preparing his return to MTB for the Nové Město World Cup (May 23-25) in the Czech Republic. A venue that brings back good memories: he won the XCO race there in 2019, and in his last participation in 2021, he finished second behind Tom Pidcock. Additionally, he has two victories and a second place in the Short Track discipline at the same venue, although this last discipline is reserved for top-40 UCI ranked riders, a position he currently does not hold, so he will not be able to compete in it.

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Although Van der Poel will not be in Germany this week, the event will feature another MTB star, the reigning world champion, Puck Pieterse. The Fenix-Deceuninck rider will use the race as preparation for Nové Město. Pieterse, who turns 23 on Tuesday, May 13, already knows what it's like to win at that Czech venue, where she achieved her first elite World Cup victory in her debut in 2023. Last week, she also won the Dutch national title in the Short Track discipline.