The commentators of the live broadcast from the first UCI MTB World Cup in Nove Mesto/Czech Republic were quite astonished by the 8th-placed rider’s sprint. ”Here comes Mathieu van der Poel. What an effort! – unbelievable, he isn’t even a full-fledged mountain biker,” said the race commentator about the Dutch ’Cross Champion’s and 2015 World Champion’s finish line sprint which he won against Anton Cooper and Marco Fontana aboard his STEVENS Jura Carbon Team.

The surprise didn’t come by accident since until the finish Mathieu van der Poel had advanced mostly unrecognized by the camera crew. Though he delivered the probably most thrilling story of the race: Starting from position 90 he continuously fought to advance to the front despite also crashing twice - directly after the start and in lap two – and dropping his chain two times close to the end of the race.

If, when, why, what … - considering the time gap of just 2:51 minutes between him and winner - World and Olympic Champion Nino Schurter - the idea is not too far off. Mathieu not only overtook the most riders, 81 in total, he also - tied with Nino Schurter - rode the fastest lap time at 13:03 minutes. In lap four this meant place seven, his best during the race. But right after that he dropped his chain. Van der Poel about his 8th place: ”A very good result especially considering my starting position and my bad luck during the course of the race.”
If Mathieu van der Poel will start in the next World Cup on the upcoming weekend depends on what happens during the stage road race taking place this week.

Fourth Place for Annemarie Worst
Annemarie Worst of Team ERA-Circus also knows how to ride a ’cross and a mountain bike. The current U23 World Champion focusses on mountain biking during summer riding her STEVENS Sonora SL. She said about her race in Nove Mesto: ”I didn’t knew exactly what would be going to happen, but with the 4th place in the inaugural race I am quite pleased. I felt good and was able to fight for the win but it became harder after about three quarters into the race. Luckily I found back to my form and secure 4th place.” Next week she will be starting in Albstadt.

Since it’s going to be her home race, it’s marked up in Antonia Daubermann’s calendar. The STEVENS MTB Racing team member has acquired five UCI points at the race in Nove Mesto for the starting line up in Albstadt. In the finale she successfully sprinted against Gabriela Woityla for place 21 and won on her STEVENS Jura Carbon Team. But this might have been the best part about the race, Antonia said after the race. As opposed to the MTB Bundesliga race in Gedern, her legs felt heavy from the very beginning, she said to acrossthecountry.net: ”With my 21st place I didn’t perform as I had expected, still I ended up as the best-placed German rider.”

The World Cup race in Albstadt will also be the main focus for Antonia’s teammate David Horvath. After a fissure fracture in his fibula he used the Nove Mesto race for nothing more than getting back in shape – especially since four crashes in the first lap robbed him of any chance to achieve a placing worthy of his effort.