Van der Poel says no to MTB in the Olympics: "Maybe in Los Angeles 2028"

The Alpecin-Deceuninck team has just announced the calendar of Mathieu Van der Poel for the upcoming summer and there is no mountain bike in it. Bad news for all fans of this sport, but it seems logical if he wants to perform well in the next Tour de France and try to fight for the podium in the road race at the Olympics.

Mathieu van der Poel gives up MTB at the Olympics

Although Van der Poel had always stated that his main goal since he started competing was to win a gold medal in the MTB Olympics, the truth is that logic seems to have prevailed in his calendar.

This is how his team announced it on social media:

"With the Paris 2024 Olympics, organizing the summer calendar was a difficult puzzle for our world champion Mathieu van der Poel. After careful consideration, the decision has been made. There will be no mountain bike, but a full focus on the Tour de France - Olympics combination."

"This is the most logical choice to be able to prepare my goals without time pressure," said Van der Poel himself. "The combination with MTB was too difficult. But who knows, maybe in LA '28 I can focus on mountain biking."

"My ambition for the Tour? I hope, like last year, to help my teammate Jasper Philipsen in his quest for stage wins and a possible green jersey. The goal is also to win a stage this year."