Mathieu van der Poel crashes out of World Championships cross-country mountain bike race

Dutch rider abandons inside three minutes of the event starting

Mathieu van der Poel on a mountain bike
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel will not win a historic third rainbow jersey this year, after he crashed out of the elite men’s cross-country mountain bike race at the UCI World Championships on Saturday. 

The Dutchman, who won the road world title last weekend, fell on a downhill stretch of loose gravel on the course in Glentress Forest, and abandoned the race. The incident came inside three minutes of the roll-out, as the riders approached the start-finish line to begin the first lap. 

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