Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) crashed heavily in the opening stages of the mountain bike race at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Dutch rider came into the event as a major favourite and looked comfortable in the opening stages of the technical and hilly course.
However, on a short downhill section, the wearer of the Tour de France yellow jersey hit the deck. He had been sitting inside the top-five in the race when the incident occurred.
It looked as though he was out of the race as he sat on the ground for almost a full minute but he eventually got to his feet and began racing again. The Dutchman held the leaders at just over a minute for over four laps of racing but with the medals already out of the picture and the rider in visible pain, he eventually abandoned with just over two laps remaining.
More to follow...
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