More cyclocross stars withdraw from Friday's Koksijde cross after Mathieu van der Poel

The Duinencross Koksijde, a part of the cyclocross series X2O Badkamers Trofee, will take place this Friday. However, the race will not feature the expected star-studded line-up. Following confirmation of Mathieu van der Poel's absence due to a rib injury, Lars van der Haar is skipping the event as well.

The explanation for the Dutchman's absence was revelaed by the director Baloise Glowi Lions Eric Braes at Wielerflits: "We had to do it so as not to jeopardize the championships," he begins by pointing out.

"Lars has had some problems with his knee for a while. It was fine, but in Gavere he banged it again during the reconnaissance. He still raced in Baal anyway, but then there was a reaction," adds Eric Braes.

"We thought at the time that he would be out for a few days, but that by Besançon he would be fine again. However, Lars felt in a training session before Besançon that he still wasn't. So we decided to skip that cross and focus on Diegem. Lars was still competing for that final classification. But he wasn't 100% there either," says the team manager.

The situation in the team is not delicate. In fact, there is a lot of calm with the health of Lars van der Haar, who is expected to return to action in Gullegem: "We expect him to start there. He has a classification to defend (Superprestige). The next few days will be very important. He won't train much, but he will rest. And then he will hopefully be recovered for the weekend," Braes concludes.