Van der Poel left searching for answers after shock MTB Worlds disappointment

Expectations around Van der Poel had been high heading into the race. His second place at the World Cup in Les Gets suggested his mountain bike form was moving in the right direction and the 31-year-old had also felt strong in training in the days leading up to the World Championships.

On Sunday, however, that form was nowhere to be found.

“I had no power in my legs today. It just was not good,” Van der Poel told Nu.nl after the finish. “I felt good in training last week and this week, but a mountain bike course does not lie.”

Van der Poel started from the fifth row of the grid because of his mountain bike ranking, placing him in a similar position to Pidcock at the beginning of the race.

The contrast between the two quickly became clear.

Pidcock began making rapid progress through the field and reached the leading group during the third lap. Van der Poel also moved forward in the opening phase but was unable to sustain the same momentum.

He soon realised that something was wrong.

“I knew quite early in the race that I did not have good legs,” he said. “That is why this performance comes as a surprise to me as well.”

While Pidcock continued towards the front and eventually rode clear in the final two laps, Van der Poel drifted further away from the medal battle.

He eventually crossed the line in 30th place, four minutes and 40 seconds behind Pidcock.

For Van der Poel, the most frustrating part was the absence of an obvious explanation. Unlike at the previous World Championships, there had been little warning that he was heading towards another difficult afternoon.

“It is the same story as last year,” Van der Poel said. “The race before the World Championships was good and the World Championships itself was bad. I do not have an explanation for it yet.”

The result adds another disappointment to Van der Poel's complicated relationship with mountain bike racing.

He has already collected world titles on the road, in cyclocross and on gravel, leaving the mountain bike rainbow jersey as the major missing prize in his career.

His attempts to win it have repeatedly been interrupted by setbacks, and Van der Poel admitted that the pattern is becoming difficult to ignore.

“Those poor results are starting to add up a little,” he said.

Still, this setback felt different.

“Last year I could feel beforehand that I was not one hundred per cent at the World Championships. This time I expected much more. But I cannot change it now. Unfortunately, you have days like this too.”

His mountain bike ambitions will now make way for another major objective on the road. In four weeks, he is expected to challenge for a second road world title in Montréal.

The WorldTour races in Québec and Montréal could form part of his build up to that championship.