Mathieu van der Poel MTB plans resume on Sunday, when he returns to racing at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Les Gets.
The elite cross-country race in France will serve as his final scheduled test before the Mountain Bike World Championships. Those championships take place in Val di Sole one week later, on August 30.
Van der Poel has not raced since winning on the Champs Élysées on the final day of the Tour de France. In Paris, he attacked on the final lap with Tadej Pogačar and stayed clear of the chasers. The move delivered a striking victory in the French capital on July 26.
Since then, the Dutchman has turned his focus back to mountain biking. He has spent time training at altitude in Livigno, with Val di Sole now his main target.
Van der Poel MTB return carries Worlds importance
Les Gets offers familiar terrain for Van der Poel. He raced the World Cup cross-country event there last year and finished sixth.
That result came with limited preparation and a difficult starting position. It still showed he could compete with full-time mountain bike specialists.
His World Championships campaign two weeks later proved far tougher. In Crans Montana, he lost contact with the leaders as the race unfolded and finished 29th.
The mountain bike world title remains the only rainbow jersey missing from Van der Poel’s collection. He has won eight cyclocross world titles, plus world crowns on the road and gravel.
His best result at the Mountain Bike World Championships remains bronze. He earned that medal in Lenzerheide in 2018.
More recent attempts have brought frustration. At the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, he crashed on the opening lap and abandoned. Last year, Crans Montana ended with his 29th-place finish.
Sunday’s appearance also carries longer-term relevance. Les Gets will host the Mountain Bike World Championships in 2027. That event forms part of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Haute Savoie.
Road programme remains undecided after Val di Sole
Van der Poel’s calendar after Val di Sole remains uncertain. A September return to road racing remains possible, but no final decision has been announced.
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal are among possible preparation races. They could help build form before the Road World Championships in Montréal on September 27.
The Montréal course may strengthen the case for another road rainbow jersey attempt. Its climbing profile appears closer to terrain that has suited Van der Poel before.
Van der Poel skipped last year’s World Championships in Kigali. He judged a route with nearly 5,500 metres of climbing too demanding for his characteristics.
A year earlier in Zürich, he took bronze on a course with almost 4,500 metres of elevation gain.
Montréal presents a different challenge. The route features around 3,800 metres of climbing, according to the current race details.
That total sits much closer to the 3,600 metres he handled in Glasgow in 2023. There, he won the road world title with one of his defining performances.
For now, those road decisions can wait. Van der Poel’s immediate focus returns to the dirt in Les Gets.
Val di Sole then offers another chance at the one major rainbow jersey still missing from his career. His Les Gets ride will show where that ambition stands.
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