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
Mountain Bike
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.
Update
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."
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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