VIDEO - Mathieu van der Poel narrowly avoids hard crash in MTB return, finishes 10th in 'really painful' race
Mountain Bike
Mathieu van der Poel is a multi-talented rider on the bike. He is a former World Champion on the road and gravel; and a world title record holder in cyclocross - one that he achieved this winter. The only one missing from his palmarès is the MTB rainbow jersey, a goal he has begun building on this Friday in Les Gets.
Mathieu van der Poel 10th at Les Gets short track
This is not a new preparation for the Dutchman, who 12 months ago also participated in the Les Gets XCO event, finishing a strong sixth place; but couldn't back that up two weeks after in Crans-Montana where he barely broke through the Top30.
Whilst immensely talented, the Dutchman hasn't been able to replicate the efficiency of Tom Pidcock, a full-time road racer who has often smoothly transitioned to the mountain bike - with two Olympic titles to his name already. But the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider has made it clear that the Mountain BIke world title is a clear goal to add to his palmarès and this year is a good opportunity.
Hence, after a training block in the Alps, he has started off the Short Track event in Les Gets this Friday. Van der Poel finished 10th, moving up significantly during the 22-minute long race, and just making it into the Top10, 36 seconds behind winner Adrien Boichis - despite nearly crashing in a rock garden, as shown in the clip below.
“Man, it was… really painful. I expected it to be painful, but it hurt more than I’d have liked, haha,” he said in a post-race interview. The short effort, taking place in altitude and in a difficult course, put van der Poel - who had a start far from the front, due to his lack of participations in the MTB events - on the limit.
"Having to use up my energy so early on was tough. It was kind of the plan to move up to the middle of the pack as quickly as possible. Because, well, I knew that after the last rock garden, the course would just be one long, drawn-out stretch. I couldn’t really recover, so it was just a whole race of suffering.”
🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel finished 10th today in the Short Track race in 🇫🇷 Les Gets. And he could just avoid a crash. XCO race on Sunday. #MTBWorldCuppic.twitter.com/HHid4wp9mC
— Cyclocross24.com (@cyclocross24) August 21, 2026
Read also
Van der Poel looking to surprise in his XCO return
This Sunday, the Dutchman will begin the XCO event from the second row, having net himself a good result on the short track race - which was his goal. This will allow him not to go to the limit at the beginning of the race to recover positions, and provide a better opportunity to take a strong result.
Last year he finished one minute exactly off the winner Luca Martin, but hopes to take his first XCO win since Lenzerheide all the way back in 2019. “These are the kinds of efforts I need. Sunday will, of course, be a completely different story than today, but still… it was definitely a painful comeback," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026
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