Van der Poel will not take part in the Val di Sole World Championships

The worst omens have come true. Although Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel has been training in Livigno with the intention of competing in the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships in Val di Sole on 28 August, the hard crash he suffered at the Olympic Games in Tokyo is still taking its toll on him and severe back pain has forced him to withdraw from the World Championships. Now all eyes are on Mathias Flückiger and Nino Schurter as the main favourites for victory.

Van der Poel will not take part in the Val di Sole World Championships

Van der Poel's team Alpecin Fenix announced the bad news on their social media:

"Mathieu van der Poel has been dealing with back pain in the past few weeks. While the situation is improving, the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole come too soon for the world CX champion.

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It is now his intention to prepare for the goals in the next part of the season – including Paris-Roubaix– and the Benelux Tour, where he is the defending champion."

As stated by Alpecin Fenix, Mathieu Van der Poel is expected to reappear at the Tour du Benelux which starts on 30 August and another of his red marked objectives is the Paris-Roubaix which will be held on 3 October. We will keep an eye on Van der Poel's evolution.