Improving with each lap, Mathieu van der Poel secures sixth place in his return to mountain bike racing at the Les Gets World Cup.

Mathieu van der Poel Makes Return to Mountain Bike Racing in Les Gets

Mathieu van der Poel, the Dutch cycling sensation, made his comeback to mountain bike racing at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Les Gets, France. After a hiatus of several months, Van der Poel was back on the mountain bike circuit, eager to make an impact.

Van der Poel's last mountain bike race was in May at the Nove Město, Czechia round of the World Cup. Unfortunately, his race ended prematurely due to two crashes in the opening laps, forcing him to abandon.

Despite the setback, Van der Poel has achieved a best result of bronze at the 2018 MTB Worlds. His goal in Les Gets was to build on this success and make a strong showing in his return to the sport.

Following the race, Van der Poel spoke to NOS and expressed his satisfaction with his performance, despite falling behind at the start. He admitted that he had struggled to keep up with the pace set by the leading group, but was pleased with his ability to catch up and finish the race.

Van der Poel has a strong pedigree in cross-country mountain bike racing, having won national and European titles. However, he is yet to claim a world title in this discipline. With his focus now on the MTB World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on September 14, he will have the opportunity to complete the set of rainbow jerseys.

In Les Gets, Van der Poel found himself racing among some of the best in the sport, including Luca Braidot, Mathias Flückiger, and eventual winner Luca Martin. Despite starting on the fifth row, he managed to catch the lead group on the fifth of eight laps. However, he ended the day a minute down on Martin.

Van der Poel finished the race in sixth place, a respectable result given his extended break from the sport and the strong competition he faced. He expressed the need for specific training towards the World Championships, as he never felt like he could push himself during the race.

In addition to his mountain biking achievements, Van der Poel is a multiple world champion in cyclo-cross, in addition to holding titles in gravel and road. He acknowledged that he might have been able to achieve more if he had been more aggressive in the first laps, but had decided not to take any risks on the first lap, which resulted in him losing a few positions.

Elsewhere in the world of mountain biking, Alessandra Keller secured gold in the Mountain Bike World Championship Short Track at the previous event, held near the Matterhorn. Keller beat Jenny Rissveds to claim the title, adding another accolade to her impressive career.

As Van der Poel focuses on the MTB World Championships in Crans-Montana later this month, he will be hoping to add a world title in mountain biking to his already impressive collection of cycling trophies.

Improving with each lap, Mathieu van der Poel secures sixth place in his return to mountain bike racing at the Les Gets World Cup.