Injured following a collision against a post at the end of December, the Dutchman must “stay patient» before resuming competition.
Mathieu van der Poel, who has been suffering from rib pain for a week as a result of hitting a pole during the Loenhout cross country at the end of December, will not take part in the World Cup round on Sunday in Dendermonde, Belgium, he said. explained on Saturday in the Dutch media.
The world champion had already had to skip the Superprestige round of Baal on January 1st and the prestigious meeting in the dunes of Koksijde on Friday.
«I took a test (Friday). It’s clear that Dendermonde arrives too soon. On uneven terrain my ribs still hurt too much. For now, I have no choice but to remain patient», said the rider of the Alpecin-Deceuninck team who this season won the five events in which he took part (Zonhoven, Mol, Gavere, Loenhout and Besançon).
No pain on the road
However, this package does not postpone the rest of his cross-country season nor his road campaign. “On the asphalt, I don’t feel any pain», He said on Friday, as he was preparing to leave for a ten-day internship in Spain.
This package is especially a disappointment for cyclo-cross fans since the Dendermonde event was to be the scene of one of the rare confrontations this year between “MVDP” and its great Belgian rival Wout Van Aert.
Despite this setback, Van der Poel remains the huge favorite for the World Championships in Liévin, at the beginning of February in France, where he intends to equal the record for world titles (7) held by the Belgian Eric De Vlaeminck.
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Senegal
