'I don't lose sleep over other people's opinions' - MTB Worlds remains the goal for Mathieu van der Poel

Mathieu van der Poel has confirmed that the Mountain Bike World Championships will remain his major goal in the latter part of the season despite his crashes at the World Cup event in Nové Mesto last month.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was forced to abandon the Nove Mesto World Cup after sustaining a micro-fracture to his wrist, and it briefly cast doubt on his participation at the Tour de France.

Van der Poel quickly returned to training, however, and he is currently in action at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he placed third in a high-octane opening stage to Montluçon.

Speaking to Dutch newspaper AD, Van der Poel reiterated his intention to ride the Mountain Bike Worlds in Valais in September as he bids to win a rainbow jersey in a fourth discipline, having previously won elite world titles in cyclocross, gravel and road.

“That Worlds definitely remains the goal,” Van der Poel told AD, downplaying the idea that he should jettison mountain biking to focus on the road. “That last fall was a blow? That’s putting it mildly, and it’s especially unfortunate because I was looking forward to mountain biking. 

“But I don't lose sleep over other people’s opinions. I do what I have in mind. After the Tour, I'm going to prepare as well as possible for the Mountain Bike World Championships. Setbacks are part of the game. It only makes me more determined to do better next time.”

Van der Poel previously competed in the cross-country event at the Tokyo Olympics, where his challenge for the gold medal was ended by a crash. He long considered another tilt at the mountain bike event at the Paris 2024 Olympics before ultimately opting to compete only on the road. 

“I rode the course in Nove Mesto a hundred times, so to speak, and at race pace and that all went perfectly. It was a bit of an unfortunate coincidence,” said Van der Poel, who indicated that he would look to line out in more mountain bike events between the Tour and the Worlds. “It’s up to me to prove that I still have mountain biking in me.”

Van der Poel caught the eye on Sunday in a breathless stage 1 of the Dauphiné, his first road event since he won his third successive Paris-Roubaix in April. The 30-year-old joined a high-calibre move over the final climb with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), but he had to settle for third after he opened his sprint from distance in a bid to ensure the break held off the chasing bunch.

“I was in a different weight class there, but I'm happy I was in this decisive move,” Van der Poel said after Pogacar’s stage win. “But of course I’m also a bit disappointed that I could not finish it off.”