Mathieu van der Poel will skip the MTB World Championships this summer to race the Road World Championships in Yorkshire.
Despite having mountain biking as a central goal going into the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the cyclo-cross world champion has decided to skip this year’s mountain bike world championships -which are going to be held between the 28th of August and 1st of September.
“I think it’s very unfortunate that I have to ignore the Mountain Bike World Championships but choices have to be made,” Van der Poel said.
“I cannot deny that the course in Yorkshire should suit me, that is why I am resolutely opting for the World Championships on the road this year. I absolutely want to be present at the test event in Tokyo, the 2020 Olympic Games are still the big goal, so combining the three is not feasible.”
“I am happy that we can include Mathieu in the Dutch selection for Yorkshire. I am convinced that we are leaving with a strong team and with Van der Poel there the strength of the Dutch team is only increasing,” Netherlands national coach Koos Moerenhout said.
Van der Poel will continue to mix road and cyclocross into his racing calendar. He won his first career World Cup mountain bike race in late May in the Czech Republic.
He will return to cross-country World Cup racing next month, with planned starts at Les Gets (July 12-14), Val di Sole (August 3-4), and Lenzerheide (August 10-11).
