Mathieu van der Poel will not start in the final stage of the Renewi Tour. The world champion was set to start as the top favorite in the queen stage, but the Alpecin-Deceuninck team leader is still suffering from the effects of a bizarre incident in the time trial.
His team announced this on social media. Van der Poel bumped his right knee against his handlebars during the race against the clock. Although the exact moment is not mentioned, it is likely that the injury occurred during Van der Poel’s miraculous save. In a corner, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider nearly crashed but miraculously stayed on his bike.
He avoided hitting the asphalt, but Mathieu didn’t come out unscathed: since then, the winner of this year’s Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix has been struggling with pain in his injured knee. After consulting with the team, it was decided not to take any risks: MvdP will not finish in Geraardsbergen. A huge disappointment for the team and the fans.
Continue reading below the photo.
Mathieu resolute: "I cannot and will not take any risks"
In a brief press release, Van der Poel stated that he is very disappointed he cannot complete the Renewi Tour. "The last day would only add extra stress to my knee. So I cannot and will not take any risks that would only make it worse. It’s really a shame because I was looking forward to the final stage on the Muur van Geraardsbergen," concluded the world champion.
Place comments
0 Comments
You are currently seeing only the comments you are notified about, if you want to see all comments from this post, click the button below.
Show all comments