Mathieu van der Poel has suffered a minor wrist fracture as a result of his double crash in the MTB World Series race in Nové Mesto, Alpecin-Deceuninck have said.
The Dutch champion has been diagnosed with what the team described as “A minor avulsion fracture of the scaphoid bone, indicative of ligament damage to the wrist.”
The initial consequence is that Van der Poel will have to miss the early part of his team’s high-altitude training camp in the Alps; however, there is no news about how it could affect his participation in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
The team also stated that it was too soon to have a definitive prognosis or to give a clear indication of how it will affect Van der Poel’s program.
“The injury will be subject to continued and intensive medical evaluation throughout the week,” the statement said.
“Further assessments, scheduled towards the end of the week, may offer greater clarity regarding his program and the potential for participation in the Critérium du Dauphiné.”
Van der Poel was riding in his first MTB race since the 2023 Olympic test event when he crashed, just six minutes into the event. He abandoned on the third lap. After years of huge success in cyclocross and road racing, his participation in the Nove Mesto race was with an eye on preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games.
His first crash came as he attempted to move up around the outside of the group on the opening lap, but he lost balance as he tried to lean on a rider and went into the fencing as he hit the ground.
In the second incident, he once again lost balance on a pump track section of the course and went over the top of his handlebars, hitting the ground again as his bike crashed into the fencing.
Van der Poel was checked out back in Belgium, in the hospital in Herentals, but no information has been forthcoming until today. Following his hugely successful Classics campaign with wins in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, Van der Poel recently said he was going to take part in the Dauphiné (June 8-15) prior to his long-planned return to the Tour de France (July 5-27).
In contrast to Van der Poel’s setback, there is some good injury update news regarding teammate Sam Gaze, who was also caught up in a crash on Sunday. Gaze suffered what was initially feared to be a broken arm, but checkups showed his fall did not have such serious consequences, and he has no fractures.
