MATHIEU VAN DER POEL SAYS HE WON’T COMPETE IN OLYMPIC MTB RACE IN 2024
Van der Poel does think he might be able to compete in the Los Angeles Olympic mountain bike race in 2028, however
Brujulabike.com has reported that Mathieu van der Poel won’t be competing in the Olympic mountain bike race this year. His sponsor released his race schedule for the summer, and it shows that Van der Poel will race in the Tour de France, then compete in the road bike category in the Olympics.
For those readers who don’t know much about Mathieu van der Poel’s mountain bike skills, check out this Instagram post he put up a few years ago.
Van der Poel had previously said that the men’s Olympic mountain bike race, which comes only eight days after the end of the Tour de France, wouldn’t give him enough time to fully recover for the mountain bike event.
However, the Olympic road bike event comes two weeks after the Tour de France ends, which Van der Poel has said is the ideal amount of time for him to put his best effort into his Olympic performance.
Here’s what Brujulabike.com reported that Mathieu van de Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team said on social media:
“With the Paris 2024 Olympics, organizing the summer calendar was a difficult puzzle for our world champion Mathieu van der Poel. After careful consideration, the decision has been made. There will be no mountain bike, but a full focus on the Tour de France – Olympics combination.”
“This is the most logical choice to be able to prepare my goals without time pressure,” said Van der Poel himself. “The combination with MTB was too difficult. But who knows, maybe in LA ’28 I can focus on mountain biking.”
“My ambition for the Tour? I hope, like last year, to help my teammate Jasper Philipsen in his quest for stage wins and a possible green jersey. The goal is also to win a stage this year.”
