Mathieu van der Poel experienced a poor return to mountain biking at the World Cup in Nové Mesto, Czech Republic, on Sunday. The Dutchman crashed twice in the opening phase and gave up after thirty minutes.
The thirty-year-old Van der Poel crashed for the first time when he wanted to quickly move towards the head of the peloton after the start. He was hindered by another rider.
A little later, Van der Poel flipped over after a jump. He apparently fell hard, but still got back on his mountain bike. It is not known if he was injured.
Van der Poel rode his first mountain bike race on Sunday since the test event for the Paris Olympic Games in the fall of 2023.