🎥 Unbelievable! Van der Poel narrowly avoids horrific crash during sprint training

Mathieu van der Poel is set to make his cyclocross comeback on 14 December, but that return briefly looked in jeopardy. The Alpecin–Deceuninck rider came close to a brutal crash during a training ride in Spain, as shown in footage shared by a training partner.

Van der Poel is currently based in Spain, working daily on building his base ahead of the winter cyclocross season and the upcoming road campaign. He is doing all his work on the road bike for now, as the cross bike remains untouched. Yet training on public roads always carries risks, something that almost became painfully clear again during this session.

In the video, Van der Poel launches into a sprint alongside a training mate. Just as he opens up his acceleration, his chain suddenly locks. Miraculously, Van der Poel manages to stay upright and avoids crashing into his training buddy. Thanks to that save, the Dutchman escaped what could have been a serious fall - a potentially disastrous setback so close to his cyclocross return.

Alpecin–Deceuninck recently released Van der Poel’s full cyclocross schedule. He will begin his programme of up to thirteen races on Sunday 14 December in Namur, Belgium. All those races are expected to build him toward peak condition for early February, when the UCI Cyclocross World Championships take place in Hulst, in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Van der Poel can make history there by becoming world champion for the eighth time.

After the World Championships, Van der Poel will shift his focus back to the road. As usual, he is expected to target the Spring Classics, with the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix as his major objectives. In both the Classics and the coming cross races, he will again face rival Wout van Aert, who recently revealed his own cyclocross schedule.