The world champion Mathieu van der Poel will focus on the Olympic road test at the Paris Games this summerafter competing in the Tour de France, and will skip the mountain biking. The versatile Dutch runner said on Wednesday that combining the Tour and the road race was “the most logical option”.
“It ensures that I have some time so that I can prepare better”, he said in a statement released by his Alpecin-Deceuninck team. Van der Poel won titles in multiple disciplines and at one point considered competing in the cross-country race, but faced what he called a “difficulty putting it together” and decided that the road racing course was in line with his experiences.
“Let’s just say I chose the most logical thing,” he said. “That’s why, After consulting with the team, I opted for a slightly longer rest periodafter that I can prepare for the Tour de France and the Olympic road race without time pressure,” said the Dutchman.
Van der Poel is not going to the Tour to look good. “The goal is to win a stage this year”, warning. “Last year I got sick when there were stages where I had a chance. “I hope I can be saved from that in this edition,” he said.
Of course, despite his decision for Paris 2024, Van der Poel is not ruling out mountain biking for the next Olympic Games. “There is still a long way to go until Los Angeles 2028, at that point I will be in a different phase of my career,” he said “Maybe then the bet will be on mountain biking, even if it will be a difficult season,” he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
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