UPDATE: Mathieu van der Poel may be forced to miss Tour de France as more information on seriousness of MTB crash that left him hospitalised comes to light

Mathieu van der Poel's long-awaited and highly-anticipated return to mountain bike racing did not go as planned for the Alpecin-Deceuninck superstar this Sunday afternoon in at the Nove Mesto round of the World Cup.

Van der Poel's return didn't last long before a crash brought his hopes of victory to a premature end. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider's fortunes in off-road racing continue to be elusive. He previously suffered crashes in two major events — the Olympic Games in 2021 and the 2023 World Championships — both of which were key targets in his career. Unfortunately, today's race added to that streak, as he hit the ground hard once again. 

To make matters worse for Alpecin-Deceuninck, Van der Poel wasn't the only rider caught up in a crash either as Samuel Gaze also came down with a bump. As a result of this instances, both Van der Poel and Gaze have been sent to hospital for a medical check up according to a report by Wielerflits. With a big summer still in store for the multi-discipline world champion, Van der Poel will be hoping there are no serious issues.

According to information garnered by the respected Belgian broadcasters Sporza, Van der Poel's injuries may be far worse than initially feared, with even the Dutchman's participation at the 2025 Tour de France now in doubt.

"The seriousness of the (possible) injury is not yet fully clear, but according to our information, all parties are taking bad news into account and the damage is greater than expected," Sporza reports worryingly. "Van der Poel would normally have travelled to La Plagne on Monday for an altitude training camp, after which he would ride the Dauphiné (8-15 June) in preparation for the Tour de France (5-27 July). There is now a very big question mark behind that planning."