Mathieu van der Poel suffered a huge setback with the Dutch team at the World Cycling Championships in Australia. In the mixed team time trial, bad luck and a fall threw a spanner in the works for Orange’s favorite six. Soon after the start of the men’s trio, the chain of Bauke Mollema’s bicycle came off. Shortly after the relief by the women, things went completely wrong for Annemiek van Vleuten.
Her chain seemed to slip, causing her to lose control of her bike and fall. Both the Dutch men and women had to complete the course of just over fourteen kilometers in Wollongong with two instead of three.
Mathieu van der Poel, Daan Hoole, Ellen van Dijk and Riejanne Markus eventually finished fifth in a time of 34.39 minutes. 52 seconds slower than Switzerland’s winning time.
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It was only the third time on Wednesday that the mixed team time trial was on the program of the World Cycling Championships. The principle of this part is simple. First, the men complete a course with three riders, in this case a lap of just over fourteen kilometers. And then the three women follow the same course.
When the second man has crossed the line, the women can start. When the second woman has crossed the finish line, the clock is stopped.
Pre-favourite
Beforehand, the orange six was the favourite. However, things turned out completely different in Australia on Wednesday. The road race is still scheduled for the six orange customers in Australia. The women will compete for the coveted road title on Saturday. While the battle for the rainbow jersey in this men’s discipline erupts on Sunday. Mathieu van der Poel is once again one of the contenders.
That also applies to Annemiek van Vleuten in the match on Saturday, but the question is how she is doing after the blow she made on Wednesday. Marianne Vos will also start as one of the favorites in the women’s road race.
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