After fracturing his wrist just two weeks ago, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has started the Critérium du Dauphiné without much pain, and with his eye on a stage victory.
Van der Poel was expected to be out for much longer after crashing heavily twice at the Nové Mesto XCO Mountain Bike World Series round on May 25, but it proved to be less severe than initially feared.
He was confirmed as a starter for the Dauphiné late last week, and speaking at the start of the stage in Domérat, the former world champion gave some insight into how the injury was affecting him.
"It's annoying me more than it does good, so I'm quite happy I could ride outside pretty quickly after the crash," said Van der Poel to reporters in the mixed zone.
"I still feel it – that the wrist is not 100%, but I cannot say that it is really hurting me.
"The only thing is that I didn't really do any all-out efforts. I've trained pretty well given the circumstances, so hopefully we can be in the mix today."
The MTB race in Czechia was a return to the discipline for Van der Poel, but he stressed that, despite crashing and injuring himself before the Tour de France, the risk that comes with racing off-road isn't any higher on the mountain bike, and that incidents can happen at any moment.
"For me, mountain biking is less dangerous than being in a bunch on the road," said Van der Poel.
"It's also something I really love to do, so it's always a risk of cycling that you can crash, but in general, I feel pretty ok.
"It's my first time here, and I think it's better to have some competition for me, before the Tour de France, it's good to try something new sometimes."
On paper, an undulating final to the first stage in Montluçon would have been a perfect Van der Poel day, yet with his recent injury in mind, while the Dutchman was still confident he would give it a crack, he conceded that the sprinters would likely have their day.
"I hope to be in contention today. The final climb, maybe yes," is tailor-made for him, "but the finish line is some kilometres to go," said Van der Poel.
"I expect a controlled race for a sprint today. I think the whole bunch wants to be at the front at all the key points, so it will be no different.
"I think [Jonathan] Milan is the favourite, he's the fastest of this bunch, but maybe we can do something. I think it's going to be a sprint, the first stage with the yellow jersey on the line, so I think they [Lidl-Trek] will control it."
There will be more chances for Van der Poel across the eight days, after he takes stock on stage 1 of where his form is at, and if he is to take a victory, it will be his first WorldTour stage victory since the 2022 Giro d'Italia.
