Van der Poel could solve Olympics puzzle with Tour de France exit after gravel stage

Picture by Michal CervenySWpixcom 08082023 Mountain Bike XCO CrossCountry 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships Peebles Scotland practice Mathieu van der Poel Netherlands
Mathieu van der Poel at the MTB World Championships for the Netherlands (Image credit: Michal CervenySWpixcom)

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games has been causing headaches and altering schedules already for riders with the prospects of winning gold medals. Mathieu van der Poel is one of the riders who will have to ride an unorthodox calendar to ensure he, first qualifies, then has a chance to fight for victory at the mountain bike cross-country event and road race in Paris. 

Van der Poel, a champion across both disciplines, has made it clear he wants to target the mountain bike race at the Olympics and rectify his disappointing appearance in Tokyo, that saw him crash on the opening lap and injure his back.

James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.