📸 Touchdown: Mathieu van der Poel arrives in Crans Montana a week before the World Championships

Van der Poel finished the World Cup in Les Gets just over a week ago, where he demonstrated with a sixth-place finish that he has what it takes for the World Championships in Crans-Montana. Afterwards, the Dutchman indicated that he can build on this and that the rainbow jersey is not an unrealistic goal this Sunday.

The Dutchman's early departure is part of his plan for Sunday. “I did the same thing in Nove Mesto (where he rode a mountain bike in May), which gives you extra time to get to know the course and get a feel for it,” he told us during the Renewi Tour, his last road race.

The World Mountain Bike Championships have already been underway with events such as Downhill and the marathon. On Tuesday, the Short Races are on the program in Zermatt, but Van der Poel—unlike Puck Pieterse—will not be starting there. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, therefore, has plenty of time to prepare for Sunday's Cross Country race.

National coach Gerben de Knegt believes in Van der Poel's chances. “Mathieu knows that the level is high, but he has consciously chosen to take on the challenge. It's great that a rider of his stature is putting himself in a vulnerable position in a discipline in which he has achieved great results in the past. His sixth place in Les Gets gives him confidence, and with the wide starting area, he can immediately make up positions. If he rides his own race, a lot is possible.”