Mathieu van der Poel had a long story into the XCO World Championships, fighting for a place in the Olympic Games, having his starting position improved last-minute after winning the road World Championships, but it all ended on the very first lap.
Van der Poel, who started in the fifth row of the field, was moving up. However in the final corner of the race, the very same where Tom Pidcock crashed out Luca Schwarzbauer in the Short Track race, he crashed. He's abandoned the race, seemingly suffering hits in the right knee and chin.