"The disappointments are starting to pile up" - Ten Dam is convinced Van der Poel won't be stopped by Val di Sole setback
Mountain BikeTuesday, 01 September 2026 at 09:00
It didn't work out this year, Mathieu van der Poel will have to try for the mountain bike rainbow jersey again in the future. And, to be frank, his attempt in Val di Sole did not even land anywhere near the mark, which was quite shocking after Van der Poel confirmed great form at the Les Gets World Cup just one week prior.
And Dutch ex-professional Laurens Ten Dam seconds that the expectations have been high of Van der Poel past weekend:
"You do hope that Mathieu can make his dream come true and become world champion. When he finished second in his first race last week, we thought: yes, it's possible," he says on Live Slow Ride Fast podcast.
Unlike in France where he took off from the second row, the Dutchman had to go from all the way back in Val di Sole, but that's not the obstacle which should completely stop a rider of his qualities. "He may have started from the fifth row, but then you think: Matje is Matje, he can handle it."
Pidcock could do it...
After all, fellow road star Tom Pidcock was in the same boat, starting from the fifth row. But unlike Van der Poel, Pidcock stormed to the front of the race in a blink of an eye and then continued to moderate the race to eventually re-claim the MTB throne with ease. "Then you see Pidcock win and Van der Poel finish thirtieth. That is simply not good."
Besides the result, the physical difference between the pure specialists and the Dutchman is particularly striking. "Look, he is relatively heavy, of course. Pidcock is simply two heads shorter and three times as slim," Ten Dam visualizes.
On the other hand, the runner-up Charlie Aldridge is not a pocket climber either, so the frame of Van der Poel hardly qualifies for a valid excuse to finish buried in the result sheet, even behind Alpecin ex-teammate Samuel Gaze.
But in any case, Ten Dam admits that the significant weight difference inevitably takes its toll on a grueling course. "Those really good mountain bikers look like little boys on bikes that are too big. And with Mathieu, it almost looks like a BMX."
Where's the issue
This is not the first - or second - time that Van der Poel fails to perform in a big mountain bike event. The streak dates all the way back to 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games where Van der Poel listed a DNF after a crash in training. Then also at the 2023 World Championships. And again two years later. But that's not always been the case.
Back in 2019, before the Dutchman fully switched from mountain bike to road cycling, he had won 8 World Cup races. Maybe he should've not skipped the World Championships to race in Yorkshire road World Championships that year, where he infamously completely blew up while in the winning group and finished 43rd...
"Somehow, it just doesn't work out at the World Championship. He says himself now that the disappointments are starting to pile up. But he really is trying his best. And the fact that it doesn't work out yet again is a real disappointment for him."
Ten Dam seeks the explanation in Van der Poel's head. "Is it overfocus, then? For a champion like Mathieu, that is strange. At the Olympics, it was also a crazy story with that board. That corner where he once crashed was also so strange. And today he just had an off-day."
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"There is hope, because last week he simply finished second. And besides: in the Netherlands, we don't have four better riders ready to go either. So in that respect, he can just keep trying."
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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