We previously reported that the Dutch Cyclocross National Champion Mathieu van der Poel is considering a run at the Rio Olympics in the cross country mountain bike event.
It seems that the ‘cross star is off to a good start in his MTB pursuits with a 10th place finish at the opening race of the Sunshine Cup in Cyprus.
10th place to kick off my mtb campaign. #loveit
? Irmo Keizer / ProCycleShots pic.twitter.com/bzhNFa9AY5— Mathieuvanderpoel (@mathieuvdpoel) February 25, 2016
It’s interesting to note the bike he’s racing on as he embarks on this quest to make his country’s Olympic MTB team. Apparently the cyclocross racer is perfectly content on a fully rigid, albeit quite high-end, MTB.
. @mathieuvdpoel his rig is ready for the ultimate goal: MTB Olympics in #Rio2016 #RideShimano pic.twitter.com/GJmMT2KMj9 — ShimanoMTB (@ShimanoMTB) February 18, 2016
The goal of these early races as we previously reported is gather as many UCI points as possible to improve his start position at coming World Cup races. It seems thus far that the the young Dutchman is on track for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next summer.
