Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock to go head to head in mountain biking for first time since 2023 in Worlds warm-up
The pair will race the World Cup round at Les Gets, France
Mountain biking's top two competitors, Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel, are set to face off on fat bikes for the first time since 2023 in France this weekend. The XCO will take place on Sunday at Les Gets. This race marks their inaugural MTB showdown since the Olympic Games test event in September 2023, where neither rider achieved a high finish.
Pidcock, a two-time MTB Olympic champion, had raced MTB earlier in the year, winning the Nové Město round and finishing second in the short-track event. Van der Poel, however, has not raced mountain bikes this year due to illness. Despite this, he had a successful season, including winning the Cyclo-Cross World Championships and two Tour de France stage victories.
Pidcock, on the other hand, had a more modest season, securing a ninth-place finish in the GC standings and two third-place stage finishes. The upcoming Worlds in Italy could witness an epic showdown between these two MTB masters, but their performance remains uncertain.
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