“That should not be a problem” - Doctor downplay Mathieu van der Poel Tour de France fears

Mathieu van der Poel’s ambitious return to mountain biking ended with a crash, an abandoned race, and now, confirmation of a fractured scaphoid bone in his wrist. The injury, sustained during the Mountain Bike World Cup in Nové Město, has understandably triggered alarm among fans with the Tour de France just over five weeks away.

But according to two leading medical experts, there may be no need for panic.

“The scaphoid is a bone in the wrist, a crucial bone for the functioning of the wrist,” explains surgeon Joris Duerinckx, speaking to Sporza. “People talk about a fracture at the attachment of one of the ligaments on the scaphoid.” Duerinckx has first hand experience treating wrist injuries in elite cyclists. In 2023, he treated Tadej Pogacar after the Slovenian crashed during Liège–Bastogne–Liège and fractured his scaphoid, a race won by Remco Evenepoel.

Pogacar did manage to recover in time for the Tour de France that year, but the third week saw him fade dramatically against Jonas Vingegaard, raising the question of whether the wrist injury contributed to his decline. Just ask how Pogacar felt on the Col de la Loze…

Could the same happen to Van der Poel?

In theory, yes, but the Dutchman is not a general classification contender, and that changes the calculus. Unlike Pogacar, who needs consistent form over three weeks of punishing climbs and time trials, Van der Poel’s role at the Tour is more explosive and stage-specific. He targets breakaways, sprint lead outs, and aggressive one day style wins, not the yellow jersey. For that reason, he doesn’t need to be in tip-top form every day and his recovery window may be sufficient.

“It is a typical cyclist injury,” sports doctor Kris Van der Mieren adds. “When you go upside down (like Van der Poel), you want to land on your flat hand, but you land on your wrist. Most of the pressure goes to the scaphoid. That is the first thing that will break. It is good that it has been discovered, because sometimes it is missed.”

The timing might be tight, but it’s not disastrous. “A good bone healing of the scaphoid quickly takes about six weeks,” says Van der Mieren. “However, that does not mean that you cannot cycle for six weeks, he emphasizes. If the bone can be fixed (with a pin), then the attachment will absorb the forces and then it can go much faster.”

The exact extent of Van der Poel’s ligament damage is not public, but that may be decisive. “It depends on which ligament is affected, but I have no insight into that,” Duerinckx explains. “The damage may be minimal, which is comparable to a sprained wrist. In that case, the recovery will depend on his comfort.”

However, if it involves a more significant ligament, Duerinckx warns that it could be more complicated, “It can also be an important ligament that provides stability to the rest of the wrist and that forms a connection with the rest of the wrist bones. In that case it can be a more disabling injury. In that case it is sometimes advisable to prescribe strict immobilization and unloading and therefore to follow it. Hyperextension of the wrist should then be avoided for six weeks.”

Still, there is optimism. “There is still about five weeks before the Tour, that should not be a problem,” says Van der Mieren. “The Dauphiné will not be ideal, but you can make adjustments to a handlebar. You can make it softer with an extra cushion in the gloves so that the impact is a bit less. I do not think it has to be a big problem.”

With the Tour de France starting on July 5th in Lille, Van der Poel has just enough time for careful management and adjusted training. Whether or not he makes it to the start line in full health, his wrist will be under scrutiny, but for now, the prognosis is cautiously optimistic.