Rad-star Mathieu van der Poel has to deal with a hand injury almost six weeks before the start of the 112nd Tour de France.
The 30-year-old Dutch cup in the Mountain Bike World Cup in the Czech Nove Mesto sustained a light fracture of the barge after two falls, as his team announced. Therefore, he will probably travel to the planned height training camp in La Plagne later.
Swelling and pain are decisive
It remains to be seen when this year’s winner of the classic Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix can be attacked. This will continue to depend on the development of the swelling and the pain in the next few days, his team said.
He may miss the Dauphiné tour that traditionally serves to prepare for the tour from June 8th. But participation in the France tour, which begins on July 5 in Lille, also seems to be certain in view of the injury.
Van der Poel wants Mountain bike world champion become
On the tour, Van der Poel was an important helper for the Sprinter Jasper Philipsen, who brought the team three stages in the past year and four stage victories in the previous year alone.
Van der Poel wants to become a mountain bike world champion for the first time in Crans-Montana in September. For this, he had again contested a mountain bike race for the first time since 2023. In 2023 he already celebrated the World Cup title on the street in Glasgow. He is also a record world champion in cross with seven titles.
Sportschau Tourfunk, October 29, 2024 6:00 p.m.