"I'm positive about my form. This was exactly what I needed. The effort I had to put in in the final is very similar to that of a mountain bike race,"
"I went all out for that first sprint, but I was at my limit,"
"I sat on the mountain bike a few times beforehand to get used to that position. That's the biggest adjustment for me,"
"The technique will come naturally once I can ride the course every day starting Wednesday. I did the same thing in May in the run-up to Nove Mesto, but this time I hope to finish."
Mathieu van der Poel finished second overall in the Renewi Tour after losing the final sprint to Arnaud De Lie. He will switch from road racing to mountain biking to target the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships at Crans-Montana on September 14. Van der Poel described his form as positive and said the final effort felt similar to a mountain bike race. He will compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Les Gets and has practised mountain bike position. He fractured his wrist at Nove Mesto in May and, lacking UCI points, will start from the fourth row. He noted that the start is more important in mountain biking than in cyclocross and acknowledged that his chances of becoming world champion are slim after recent results.
Read at Cyclingnews
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