‘Not going to leave Tour de France early’ for the Olympics in Paris, says Mathieu Van der Poel,
World Champion will make an either-or option between the Tour de France and mountain biking.
As Mathieu van der Poel plans a complex schedule for his demanding multi-disciplined 2024 season, he won’t be abandoning the Tour de France early to compete in the mountain bike race at the Paris Olympics. A probable debut at the Vuelta a España is also planned. He has to make some difficult decisions.
The world champion in both road racing and cyclocross withdrew from the Tour de France after eight rounds in 2021 to get ready for the Olympics in Tokyo, where a crash on the first lap cruelly destroyed his hopes of winning a gold medal. With his increasing focus on road racing, it seems as though he is prepared to give up on his chances of winning a mountain bike medal in 2024.
Van der Poel, who is training for his return to cyclocross racing and winter road work in 2024, told Het Nieuwsblad in Spain that “there are different options on the table at the moment.”
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