A disappointment for Alpecin-Deceuninck who placed their GC hopes at the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel. However the world champion will not start today in the final stage of the Renewi Tour. Earlier in the race, Van der Poel narrowly avoided a crash in the individual time trial, but he did hit his knee and is still suffering too much from the aftermath.
Mathieu van der Poel gave all the fans a massive scare during the individual time trial in the Renewi Tour. The Dutchman lost control of his handlebars in a right-hand bend, but managed to narrowly avoid a disaster of hitting the barriers head-on at the last moment possible. Van der Poel seemed to escape unscathed, but he did hit his right knee in his near-crash.
The world champion was able to continue the Renewi Tour and played an important role for his teammate Jasper Philipsen in the subsequent sprint stages. With a perfect lead-out he managed to pilot Philipsen to victory in Aalter on Saturday.
"But the pain did not improve. In consultation with the team's medical staff, it was decided not to take any risks with regard to the rest of his program," Alpecin-Deceuninck said in a press release.
This is a big blow to Van der Poel, who had set his sights on the final stage of the Renewi Tour. "The last stage would have been extra taxing on the knee," the Dutchman says. "So I can't and won't take any risk of the injury getting worse. It's a shame, because I was really looking forward to the last stage on the Muur van Geraardsbergen."
Mathieu van der Poel's next race will come in two weeks from now with the European championships in and around Hasselt. Then he should take a start at the Tour of Luxembourg (September 18-22) and the World Championship road race (September 29) are also still on his programme.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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World champion @mathieuvdpoel will not start in the final stage of @RenewiTour. Thursday during the time trial, he hit his right knee against the handlebars of his bike. Friday and yesterday Mathieu was able to continue the race, but the pain did not get better. In consultation
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