Already packaged for the GP Sven Nys on Wednesday January 1, the presence of Mathieu van der Poel in Koksijde this Friday 3 was uncertain… and it is now official, the Dutchman will not be at the start of this round of X2O Bathrooms Trophy. In formation Alpecin-Deceuninck announced it via a press release: “Mathieu van der Poel still suffers from rib pain, especially on more demanding terrain. As a result, he will not participate in tomorrow's race in Koksijde. Mathieu and his team will decide on Saturday whether he will be able to race in Dendermonde. .”
Video – Mathieu van der Poel won on Sunday in Besançon
Only one more duel on the program
“It’s really disappointing, because Koksijde is one of my favorite races”said van der Poel. “That's where I won my first world title, for example. But it's just too early. I secretly hope to be ready for Dendermonde, although I fear that won't be very fair.”
A return which is therefore hoped for this Sunday 5 for the World Cup in Dendermonde. But the disappointment is great for cyclo-cross fans, who hoped to witness a duel against Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike). The two rivals should therefore only face each other once before the end of the season… in Maasmechelen, on January 25.
Persistent rib pain
As a reminder, his team Alpecin-Deceuninck announced Wednesday morning his package for the GP Sven Nys, through a message published on her social networks in which she explains that the world champion “suffers from severe pain in his ribs, the after-effects of his fall in Loenhout where he hit a pole“, i.e. last Friday December 27, when he won his first and only duel so far with Wout Van Aert.
“The discomfort has worsened in recent days and after consulting the medical team this morning, Mathieu made the difficult decision to withdraw from today's race. We will closely monitor his recovery to determine if he can compete in Koksijde the day after tomorrow“…we now know the answer.
