Van der Poel goes for the World Short Track Championship after qualifying rounds are cancelled

The qualifying sessions for the final of the Short Track World Championship have been cancelled. The qualifying sessions were scheduled for this morning, but finally will not be performed. The decision opens the door for Van der Poel to take part in Thursday's final and have a first contact before his real goal, the XCO World Championship.

Van der Poel could race the World Short Track Championship after cancellation of qualifying

Everything is going smoothly for Van der Poel. After showing brutal strength at the World Road Championships, which earned him the rainbow jersey, the chances of him being able to race at the World Short Track Championships are growing exponentially after the cancellation of the qualifiers.

Today's day was scheduled for the qualifying rounds for Thursday's Short Track final: the women were scheduled to compete in Glentress Forest at 10:15 a.m., while the men were to go at 11:30 a.m.

However, the news of the cancellation of these qualifying events has had several consequences. Firstly, as there is no qualification, all the entrants go directly to the final. Secondly, Van der Poel was registered but his participation was almost ruled out, as it was only two days after the Road World Championship.

Now that this decision is known, Van der Poel can change his plans and present himself on the starting grid of the World Short Track Championship. In principle this rainbow should not be a goal for the Dutchman, although he could turn this race into a first contact to get the feeling and evaluate his competitive level in XC after such a long time without doing it.

The Netherlands Federation reported that "Van der Poel will recover calmly from the road race in the next few hours. So he will prepare with his times and pace for Saturday's race." However, following this news they have stated that "as he does not have to qualify on Tuesday, there is a possibility that Mathieu will participate in XCC. This will be decided at a later date".