Mathieu van der Poel "looking at opportunities to score points in 2023" Dutch MTB coach assures
Mountain Bike
The World Cup competitions for mountain bikers are starting again and at the same time the Olympic Games in Paris are getting closer and closer. During the races, points can be earned for the Olympic qualifying ranking, something that is still very important for the men. National coach Gerben de Knegt says on the Dutch national team site that Mathieu van der Poel and Milan Vader would not qualify now.
"With women we are on track to secure two starting places for Paris, with men we currently have no slots for the 2024 Olympic Games," says De Knegt. "But both Vader and Van der Poel have indicated that they are looking at opportunities to score points in 2023. And there is an extra placement option through the world championship in Glasgow."
How exactly does placement via the ranking work? The country in nineteenth place gets at least one starting spot. Points are earned by the three best classified riders, something Vader and Van der Poel have done sparsely contributed for various reasons.
"At the moment we are far from that nineteenth place, which is a gap of seven hundred points," says De Knegt. "Milan and Mathieu are normally our strongest performing riders and they respectively have hardly achieved any points in the period from May 2022. That is the situation now."
"The positive thing is that Milan Vader has indicated that he will be riding a solid MTB program this year and Mathieu van der Poel is also looking at possibilities to fit a few competitions into his programme," De Knegt keeps hope alive.
“If they score points in big competitions, we can quickly get at least one starting spot. There is also an escape route, which leads through the World Cup in Glasgow. The two countries that score the best there of the countries that have not yet earned a starting place via the Olympic ranking, are also eligible for a place at the Games. We will not know until May 2024 whether as a country, we will meet that requirement.”
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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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