Mathieu van der Poel recently added the Renewi Tour (August 20-24) to his program. However, that race won’t be his only competitive stimulus ahead of the Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais, as on August 31 he will also race the Les Gets World Cup. MVDP hopes to further sharpen his condition after his bout with pneumonia, which he really struggled with.
"Things are going reasonably well now," Van der Poel said before the criterium in Etten-Leur to In de Leiderstrui regarding the aftermath of his pneumonia. "I really had quite a hard time with it, but it’s starting to improve. The Sunday after I withdrew, I was able to ride slowly for the first time, but it still took more than a week before I could fit in more intensive work. In Spain, I was able to get back up to speed."
It is still the plan to normally race the Mountain Bike World Championships (September 14), according to Van der Poel. "I want to first see how it goes in the Renewi Tour and then also in the Mountain Bike World Cup in Les Gets, France."
Mathieu van der Poel
