“Mathieu is looking good” – Dutch camp optimistic about Van der Poel’s mountain bike world championships dream

On Sunday in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Mathieu van der Poel will chase the mountain bike rainbow jersey he has long described as the “final piece of the puzzle.” The Dutchman has already conquered cyclocross, road, and gravel at world championship level, and he has spent the past week preparing on the Swiss course in search of adding the illusive crown in mountain biking to his palmares.

“Mathieu is very positive,” coach Gerben de Knegt told In de Leiderstrui. “He's already done quite a few laps and is really settling in. He can even ride around here relatively incognito, so it's all going well. All in all, Mathieu is looking good.”

De Knegt stressed that nothing is guaranteed in a field stacked with contenders. “The start and then the form of the day are important, but I'm definitely confident. It's going to be exciting. He could win, but he could just as easily finish 8th or 15th. And that also applies to ten other riders who have a chance.”

Van der Poel has made a habit of arriving early at major mountain bike races, a strategy he repeated in Crans-Montana after doing the same for Nove Mesto and Les Gets. “That way, you really have more time to get to know the course and get back into the swing of things on the mountain bike,” he told In de Leiderstrui last month.

His last competitive test came at the end of August in Les Gets, where he finished sixth in only the second MTB race he has finished in four years. “I'm happy with my race. I felt myself improving every lap, but in the final stages I lacked the punch and acceleration in my legs to compete for the win. I would have settled for this result beforehand, but in retrospect, I might have been able to achieve even more if I had been a bit more aggressive in the first laps.”

Whilst in cyclocross Van der Poel is the overwhelming favourite regardless of where he starts, that is not the case in mountain biking. That could prove the most difficult challenge this weekend.

As he looks to the world championship, Van der Poel remains realistic about the challenge ahead. “I'll only start from the fourth row, and in mountain biking, the start is even more important than in cyclocross. The chance of me becoming world champion is still slim after this week, but I do think I made the difference this week fitness-wise.”