France's Victor Koretzky poses with his bicycle after winning the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
France's Victor Koretzky sprints to the finish line followed by New Zealand's Anton Cooper during the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
France's Victor Koretzky (Image credit: Getty Images)
France's Victor Koretzky competes in the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Britain's Tom Pidcock competes in the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel competes in the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023(Image credit: Getty Images)
Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel competes in the Men's Elite Cross Country mountain biking test event at Elancourt Hill in Elancourt west of Paris on September 24 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Victor Koretzky (France) won the elite men's mountain bike cross-country race that served as the Olympic MTB Test Event held at Elancourt, west of Paris. Koretzky won a two-up sprint to the line, beating Anton Cooper (New Zealand) by one second and Nino Schurter (Switzerland) by four seconds.
Van der Poel started in the back row of 39 competitors for the test event and finished 28th place on the day. However, he said the result was not a priority and that he travelled to Paris so that he could get to know the circuit, which included a 2.2km starting loop and then the main 4.5km circuit.
Van der Poel moved up to the main chase group of eight riders by the third of six laps. The leading group included Koretzky, Cooper and Schurter, along with Jordan Sarrou (France).
Although the Dutchman tried to bridge the gap, he couldn't make it across to the leaders and then drifted back into 28th place.
"I didn't start super fast because I didn't want to blow myself up. After a catch-up race, I had to switch back a few notches. My condition is no longer that good after a long season, and you can't hide that on the mountain bike," Van der Poel told AD.
“I'm glad I came here. I've seen the course. I also know that next year, I will really have to compete on the mountain bike for a better starting position. Otherwise, I won't win next year. I wanted to ride two of them after the spring anyway. But a few more will need to be added. We will be puzzling over the coming weeks.''
Pidcock finished the race in 36th place. The World and Olympic Champion said ahead of the race that he did not expect to have a good performance, given that he has just returned to competition after suffering from an infection.
"Jumping back on the Mtb tomorrow for the Paris 2024 test, checking out the course in preparation to defend my title next summer. I managed to get a good week's training in after recovering from my infected saddle sore. I won’t be at my best, but I’m looking forward to stringing my last few weeks of the season together on the MTB," Pidcock wrote in a post on Instagram.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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