Watch: Mathieu van der Poel cracks spectacularly
The stunning moment that the pre-race favourite bonked out of contention for the world championship title
Mathieu van der Poel was built up to be an unstoppable force. He was the pre-race favourite in his career first elite men’s UCI Road World Championship road race. The Netherlands had their ace and were primed to unleash him, which they did on a horrendously cold and wet day in Yorkshire. Van der Poel was joined up front by four riders and he seemed to be favoured to win.
.@mathieuvdpoel ?? has cracked!!!
No one expected this. He is swept up by the peloton. #Yorkshire2019 pic.twitter.com/1y9GZ4mKo5
— UCI (@UCI_cycling) September 29, 2019
Then, all of a sudden after over 6 hours of bike racing the lights went out and van der Poel cracked. It was an implosion that nobody saw coming and left Gianni Moscon, Matteo Trentin, Stefan Kung and Mads Pedersen to contest the win. Pedersen would go on to take a stunning win outsprinting Trentin and Kung.
“I felt pretty good, but suddenly I was empty,” van der Poel tried to comprehend what happened at the finish crossing the line over 10 minutes down on the winner. “It happened suddenly, even for myself. I don’t have an explanation.”
The cyclocross and mountain biker superstar has rarely looked so vulnerable in his career where he is more often seen riding away from the top riders than unable to even follow. After bonking, van der Poel didn’t even have it in the legs to attempt to hold on the very reduced peloton.
“It was tough, very cold all day. I think I ate enough. A bonk, or something what looks like it, I couldn’t hardly pedal anymore,” he said.
The Dutchman now turns his attention to cyclocross before returning in 2020 with a focus on mountain biking at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Despite the setback, his road season can be seen as a resounding success having won with astonishing rate every time he lined up on the pavement. His most notable road win remains his stunning victory at Amstel Gold.
