Les Gets challenge: This awaits Mathieu van der Poel on his return to mountain biking

Mountain bike weekends in the World Cup are divided into two disciplines: the Short Race on Friday and the Olympic Cross Country discipline on Sunday. VDP has already shown great things in both areas in the past, but this weekend, he will only be in action on Sunday. Puck Pieterse will be riding both races, so that we will see her for the first time on Friday at 6 PM local time.

The Short Race is reserved for the top 40 riders in the UCI Ranking, and Van der Poel is not among them, as he only competed in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) this season.

This gives the Dutchman, who won the Short Race in Les Gets in 2019, an extra day to prepare for Sunday: the Cross Country race starts at 3 PM local time and will last until around 4:20 PM local time.

Van der Poel's recent mountain bike performances have not been successful. At the Tokyo Olympics (2021), the World Championships in Glasgow (2023), and his performance in Nove Mesto this spring, the Dutchman ended up on the ground. There has been some criticism from the outside world about Van der Poel's choices, which he rightly ignores.

Nevertheless, his response to the Instagram post by the organization in Les Gets—albeit with a wink-was telling. “Hopefully I won't end up on the ground 🙃,” said Van der Poel with the necessary self-mockery. Nevertheless, the main goal in two weeks will remain the same, as the decision on whether or not to participate in the World Championships will only be made officially after Les Gets.

The Dutchman traveled there early to get a feel for his mountain bike. On Thursday, he was already seen in the Alps with a big smile on his face.

Les Gets, near the Swiss border, is located in the French Alps, so you already know what to expect: a challenging course with plenty of elevation gain, which has been a fixture on the calendar in recent years. In 2022, the World Championships in mountain biking were held there, and they will be held again in 2027 at the Super World Championships in Haute-Savoie.

The circuit near the ski resort is 3.55 kilometers long and features 140 meters of elevation gain per lap, making it quite challenging. With the weather conditions in the Alps over the past few days—a lot of rain—it will be a real mud fest.

Van der Poel's rivals include riders such as Victor Koretzky, Luca Martin (France), Christopher Blevins (United States), Mathias Flückiger, and Nino Schurter (Switzerland), as well as Britain's Charlie Aldridge. Tom Pidcock, the recent winner in Andorra and of the World Championships, will logically not be participating in the Vuelta.

The World Mountain Bike Championships will take place on September 14 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Apart from athletic glory, there is little left for Van der Poel to achieve in this race. He already knows which starting row he will be in. Due to his lack of UCI points, this would normally be at the back, but based on the points he has earned on the road and in the field, he will start in row four.

Les Gets will mainly be necessary to get the feeling back. “I'm going to travel to Les Gets earlier to do some more rides, and I'm going to do the same before the World Championships. I did the same in Nove Mesto (where he rode his mountain bike in May), which gives you extra time to get to know the course and get the feeling,” he told us before the Renewi Tour.

Does he think he can win the rainbow jersey? “The chances of me becoming world champion are slim, but there's always a chance, of course. I don't really have a reference point, but Tom Pidcock has shown that it's possible. Although, of course, he's still a better mountain biker than I am,” Van der Poel said realistically. Incidentally, the circuit in Crans Montana (4.4 kilometers, 110 meters of elevation gain) is easier than the one in Les Gets (3.55 kilometers, 140 meters of elevation gain).