Mathieu van der Poel's return date to cyclocross now unknown after crash: "He is simply suffering too much from it"
Cyclocross
Alpecin-Deceuninck are lining up with several big riders today at the major cross race in Koksijde but without Mathieu van der Poel on the startline as planned. The team will still aim for victories and team manager Christoph Roodhoft is present to provide an update on the World Champion's condition.
“He is still suffering a lot from that fall. Is it worse than he thought? He is simply suffering too much from it," Roodhoft said in words to Wielerflits. "After the cross in Loenhout it was a simple fall, but later it turned out to be more serious. He was in pain. We had hoped that he would be able to start here, but that didn't work out."
A difficult situation, as the fall that initially didn't feel serious for the Dutchman then developed into a lot of rib pain that is already taking him out of his second scheduled cyclocross race. The Dendermonde World Cup on Sunday, where he would potentially race against Wout van Aert again, is starting to seem like an unlikely return date - after which he would only race again now in the space of three weeks.
Roodhoft has continued his explanation of van der Poel's current status: "He went for a ride in the woods with the bike. That's a good way to test whether you could do cross. But that test wasn't good, it was still too difficult for him. That's why we decided that Koksijde is still too early. Whether Dendermonde will work out, I can't say at the moment. We'll have to wait and see."
However, this shouldn't affect his goal of racing the World Championships, or delay his preparation towards the road season. "He can still ride on the road. He hardly has any trouble with it on the road bike. That's good of course. His rib pain therefore has no impact on the road season. Everyone gets sick sometimes or has something for the winter. “So this is not a major disaster,” he concluded.
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No @mathieuvdpoel in the @X2OTrofee Koksijde tomorrow, but we still have some strong contenders in the mix.@NielsVDPutte, @tibordelgrosso and @GVermeersch will race with ambition in the elite competition, while Stefano Viezzi and Senna Remijn line up for the U23 race.
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) January 2, 2025
🔥 For… pic.twitter.com/HZP6KEAOjr
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- The only safety measure that is realistic in this situation is for the rider to realise the danger this represents and stop immediately (and be allowed to change equipment/bike), unlikely to happen though knowing the mental state riders are in during races. A simple flat tire (more front than back) can lead to death and they still haven’t found reliable solutions to that.Mistermaumau05-01-2025
- I’m always amazed at how much people pay attention to such stuff cycling. Unless I’m alone and someone else is too, I pass, say hi and move on. On the rare occasions I get passed, if I’m in shape I’ll try to join or hang but I’ll not try to identify anyone (in any case, far too many amateurs dress in pro outfits). Similarly, when riding in groups, everyone seems to scouring and analysing other people’s equipment and set-ups (i.e. not really paying attention to the group, riding or the road) no wonder so many silly accidents happen. This also seems to be used as a rare excuse for breaking the ice whereas mentioning other more noticeable things like physionomic details a person probably isn’t aware of because they can’t see themselves riding (swinging hips, lateral knee jerks, foot turns, skewed shoulders etc.) doesn’t seem to be appreciated. Strange logic, forever fidgeting and paying in order to optimise your equipment for better performance but ignoring the potential you have for doing the same to yourself, often for free.Mistermaumau05-01-2025
- Nothing is obvious in Belgium, had Wout been from the French speaking regions, Mathieu would have been more popular. Philippe Gilbert is just about the only Walloon who managed to win over the Flemish and though he was adamant about representing the whole country you’d often see whole armies of fans brandishing seperatist unofficial Flemish flags at international races, kidnapping his popularity for their cause, NOT paying their respect to his talent. Belgium is a very complicated country even cycling-wise. As far as I know Wallonia has no known xc, not even an indoor cycling track and most would be hard done by to name any other non-Flemish rider. Mathieu is treated as a Belgian in many conditions, and this is further helped by his team being Belgian..Mistermaumau05-01-2025
- If you consider what Geraint achieved from 34 on and that Primoz is in theory at least as good or slightly better I’d not put 1 maybe 2 podiums past him, all he needs for both is just to do his thing and to have a year when luck is a bit in his side, ir at least one or the other rivals suffers some of his GT experiences. Some guys mature like red wines, especially the ones that didn’t overcook their base.Mistermaumau05-01-2025
- Was Artem Shcherbyna on an an electric bike? If not he is no slouch on a bike!roadman5412105-01-2025
- What a dumb comment! Of course Wout would be more popular in Belgium...he's from Belgium ! Sheesh!frieders305-01-2025
- Depends, the guy is known for it, some let him others clearly tell him where to stick it. You didn’t watch it did you? I’m sure in some cases he kind of asks and why should a rider mind someone riding behind during normal rides, it’s kind of the norm in this sport. On the other hand, if you’re busy concentrating on a specific training session, obviously anything is going to distract you and the guy has to respect that. Yes, he’s kind of tacky but no worse than any paparazzi, and he has made this his “profession” it seems. Like you say, no class at all.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- And haven’t we kind of forgotten, a certain WVA, no-one is analysing what he could add to the sauce.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- Yes, you have to respect him for a few things and call him out on others. He obviously didn’t see the need to progress over the years from his comment on “normal” men, had he said an old-fashioned 70y old it would have gone down positively.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- Everyone on Armstrong's team doped. It was a prerequisite for joining and getting the big money.Sweep04-01-2025