Van der Poel skips short track ahead of MTB Worlds bid

Mathieu van der Poel will not race the Short Track event at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships this weekend in Val di Sole, according to WielerFlits.

The Dutchman made his mountain bike return last Friday in the Short Track event at Les Gets, where he finished 10th. 

Two days later, Van der Poel narrowly missed out on victory in the Cross-Country event, finishing second behind Adrien Boichis, who also won the Short Track race.

Frenchman Victor Koretzky is the defending champion in the short track event after beating 2021 champion Christopher Blevins last year in Valais, Switzerland. 

Van der Poel will start Sunday’s Cross-Country race on the fifth row and will be looking to eclipse his 29th-place finish from the 2025 edition, in a bid for an eleventh rainbow jersey and first in the mountain bike discipline. 

In addition, Van der Poel will be aiming to extend his record of becoming the first male rider to win an elite world championship in four different disciplines. He is currently the only male rider to have done so in three, having won eight Cyclo-cross titles as well as one gravel and road title. 

The Dutchman will compete against a star-studded field that includes Boichis, two-time defending champion Alan Hatherly, as well as the current two-time Olympic and former world champion Tom Pidcock.

The elite men’s Short Track event will take place on Thursday, 27 August at 18:30 CET, while the elite women’s event will take place on the same day at 17:45.

Meanwhile, the elite men’s Cross-Country race will take place on Sunday, 30 August at 15:15 CET, while the elite women’s race will kick off a few hours earlier at 13:00 CET.