It was not the comeback that Mathieu van der Poel would have hoped for at the UCI Mountain Bike Series XCO World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě, as he crashed twice in the first six minutes of the race before abandoning on the third lap on Sunday.
His team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, have not yet released a medical update confirming the extent of his injuries.
The Dutchman had not ridden a mountain bike race for nearly two years, and it was his first appearance at a World Cup event since 2021.
His first crash came as he attempted to move up around the outside of the group on the opening lap, but he lost balance as he tried to lean on a rider and went into the fencing as he hit the ground.
In the second incident, he once again lost balance on a pump track section of the course and went over the top of his handlebars, hitting the ground again as his bike crashed into the fencing.
A bad day for Alpecin-Deceuninck then got worse, as after an eighth-place finish in the XCC race on Saturday, Van der Poel’s teammate Samuel Gaze also crashed out of the race on the fifth lap.
Meanwhile, at the head of the race, Christopher Blevins took a commanding victory for Specialized Factory Racing to extend his overall lead in the World Cup standings ahead of his teammate Victor Koretzky, who finished in fourth place behind Mathis Azzaro (Orgine Racing Division) and Lars Forster (Thömus Maxon).
There is currently very little information as to whether Van der Poel and Gaze sustained any serious injuries in their crashes, as Alpecin-Deceuninck has yet to make any comment.
More to follow...
