Van der Poel shows brilliant MTB form, but falls just short of the podium after phenomenal comeback in Les Gets

For Van der Poel, the goal in France was clear: to regain his form and take a step towards the World Championships in Switzerland. His return to mountain biking did not go well, as he fell twice in the Czech Republic and had to abandon the race. Now he had to do better. “For once, stay on the bike, haha. Above all, I want to finish and get a full race under my belt. That will be useful for the World Championships in two weeks,” said van der Poel.

His 33rd starting position was far from ideal, of course, and that was very clear at the beginning. While his intended World Championship rivals battled it out at the front, the Dutchman had to find his way to the front from the middle of the pack. However, he lost several places in the first few minutes. He struggled on some technical sections and had to put a foot down occasionally. At the front, Denmark's Simon Andreassen took the lead, but his competitors followed steadily.

Seven riders had managed to break away after one lap. Van der Poel crossed the line in 32nd place, 39 seconds behind the leading riders. He was able to ride more and more in the open air, which allowed him to catch up. He was in a class of his own, especially on the uphill sections. The former European champion managed to reel in rider after rider. He managed to get closer to the leaders, but Frenchman Luca Martin saw the danger.

He accelerated significantly in the second lap, putting his rivals at a slight disadvantage. Meanwhile, Van der Poel had moved into the top 15 with the fastest lap of all. And every time he crossed the finish line, he was able to capitalize on his great strength: the long climb immediately. He gained time every time, but on the descents, it was clear that the Dutchman was just a little behind the pure mountain bikers. Four rivals had meanwhile overtaken Martin, but Van der Poel was coming into view in the background.

After half an hour, the leading group consisted of ten riders, but that quickly seemed to become 11: Van der Poel was flying and still had to make up ten seconds to catch up. That had to happen at the beginning of the lap, because in the technical middle section, he had all the trouble he could handle just to stay close. Still, it seemed to be a question of when, not if, he would catch up.

He found that connection on lap 5. He joined the leaders in eighth place in the race, so he still had to fight his way to the front. That would not be easy, because the front group was packed with world-class riders. Moreover, the descent remained his Achilles heel: at the end of the fifth lap, he lost another 10 seconds. The yo-yo effect of the race played tricks on him: he caught up on the climb, but then lost time again on the descent.

As the race progressed, Van der Poel seemed to become more comfortable on his bike. He managed to move up to sixth position on lap 6, but lost a position again on the descent before the finish line. The status quo remained with the front riders until the climb on lap 7. Van der Poel caught up again and moved up to fourth place! The battle for victory could begin!

Swiss rider Mathias Flückiger attacked and was joined by Martin and Luca Braidot. The throttle was opened wide, and Van der Poel lost a lot of time on the technical sections. With one lap to go, he was 12 seconds behind. Could he make up for it on the climbs? It didn't look like it, because the Italian Braidot pushed on full throttle. He impressively left his rivals behind. Luca Avondetto and Alan Hatherly also overtook Van der Poel.

The chase took its toll. At the front, Martin had fought his way back to the front, and Flückiger was also close behind. Martin then put in a blistering acceleration and rode to victory: Braidot finished second, ahead of Flückiger. The exhausted Van der Poel crossed the finish line in sixth place, one minute behind the winner.