Mathieu van der Poel will be at the start of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday. The cyclist suffered a small fracture in his wrist two weeks ago during his return to mountain biking.
The thirty-year-old Van der Poel already crashed twice in the opening phase of the mountain bike World Cup in Nové Mesto, Czech Republic. He quit after half an hour. His team Alpecin-Deceuninck reported that the rider had fractured a carpal bone.
At the time, it was unclear whether Van der Poel would be able to participate in the Tour de France from July 5. In preparation for the Tour, he had the Critérium du Dauphiné on his program. Now that Van der Poel is participating in the Dauphiné, his participation in the Tour no longer seems to be in danger.
Van der Poel has been spotted wearing a brace around his wrist in recent days. It is unclear whether he will also wear it in the Dauphiné, in which he will make his debut on Sunday. The rider hopes to achieve a stage win in the first hilly stages of the French race.
Mountain stages are scheduled in the final days of the Dauphiné. The Dauphiné lasts until Sunday, June 15. After that, Van der Poel will shift his focus to the Tour de France, where he will also be aiming for stage wins.
The all-rounder will then focus on the Mountain Bike World Championships, which will be held in September. The world title in mountain biking is still missing from his list of achievements. He already has world titles in road cycling, cyclo-cross and gravel cycling.