Mathieu van der Poel, a veteran who dreams of winning the Mountain Bike World Championship

Winning, finally, the mountain bike world championship is “one of the great goals of the season,” clarifies Mathieu van der Poel. It is a recurring, longed-for dream. And his challenge forces him to race against his limitations and to fight with the insolent young riders who do not respect him and who dominate the cross country (XCO) specialty. Against his ambition, that of the new dominators of a specialty that denies him his dream of collecting the last maillot rainbow jersey he desires and wants to hang at home alongside the road one, the eight cyclocross ones, and the gravel one. The mountain bike world championships will be held next weekend in Val di Sole (Italy), but this Sunday, in Les Gets (France) Van der Poel found reasons to truly believe that the dream is in his hands.

Read more Julián Alvarez plays and listens to the reproaches from Atlético fans in the draw against Villarreal

The Dutchman is considered one of the most skilled cyclists on the road and in cyclocross, for he grew up perfecting his technique in the forest and in the sand, learning to control and speed up his bike on sticky terrain. But modern mountain biking, XCO born for television and the Games, is such a highly specialized activity that being skilled is not enough for Mathieu, because the rest, raised from childhood on these circuits, are better at descending. The XCO elite rests on the descents, no matter how technical and demanding they are. Mathieu has not yet managed to reach that peace, and at times he descends fighting with his bike, the roots, the rocks, and the loose earth.

On Friday, in the short track race he had to compete in to avoid starting last today, he was about to sign a farce. Trying to overcome a rocky section, his left hand slipped off the handlebar and he came very close to falling. It was a déjà vu, since his slaps and clashes in recent years trying to recover lost time have been notorious. At least this Sunday, in the long race, he wore gloves, started well, found his place at the front, and began to learn each meter of the descents well, the place where he can lose and has lost the race: second behind Adrien Boichis. The Frenchman could not drop him on the climbs, but he launched himself like a madman downhill, dodging trees, also dodging what would have been a monumental crash. Van der Poel pulled the brake but showed positive signs: after all, he has been dedicated to recovering automatisms after the Tour, training with his mountain bike, trying to recover automatisms and references at full speed.

Van der Poel, who has not won a World Cup XCO race in seven years, can dream of winning the World Championship. But his shortcomings in descending can ruin his effort. In Les Gets he was up to the task, improving his precision lap after lap, almost always able to follow the trail of the fastest downhillers. But if he can draw any conclusion from the French event, it is that he must arrive alone and well ahead when facing the last descent in Val di Sole. Just in case.

In the group of five that broke away shortly after the start of the race, Van der Poel was the veteran (31 years old), enduring the pace changes in turns of the two circuit dominators in 2026: Adrien Boichis (23 years old) and Luca Martin (24). Martín Vidaurre (26) and Simone Avondetto (26) also held on almost until the end before exploding on the last lap.

This season has staged a brutal generational change that has blurred the dominance of the figures of recent seasons. Among the old, only Van der Poel seems capable of answering so much youthful insolence. The mere presence of the Dutchman grants unexpected notoriety to the mountain bike world, which is navigating troubled waters. Luca Martin’s Cannondale team, current leader of the World Cup, has announced it will not continue in 2027. Like the Lapierre team, affected by the financial crisis of the Accell Group, owner of the French brand. Also, another road reference, Tom Pidcock, has announced his presence in Val di Sole: he may produce fewer watts than Van der Poel, but he compensates with a mastery of descents that places him as one of the top favorites to wear a rainbow jersey he already conquered in 2023.

This campaign will not only say goodbye to teams but also to female XCO references such as Anne Tepstra (35 years old), from the Lapierre team, or Rebecca Henderson, 34, who will jump to the road after racing the last seasons with Orbea Fox Factory. Both explain their farewell pointing to a certain “boredom”: the same circuits repeat almost every year. Neither is now in a position to stand in the way of the two great stars of the circuit: Sina Frei, winner today, and Jenny Rissveds, second. While XCO rethinks its future seeking the greatest possible spectacle, Van der Poel’s arrival remains the real event to improve audiences.

Read more Feijóo delves into the «public health crisis» in Ceuta