[Closed] Mathieu van der Poel Olympic Crash: He Didn't Know Ramp Had Been Removed

that just looks like a crash as opposed to anything nefarious or dangerous

Yeah, I can't really see why anyone would try to do this deliberately.

He'll be back - his wins are often spectacular, and so are his disappointments. According to Wielerflits he may aim to bounce back at the MTB Worlds in Val di Sole - it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he won both the XCC & XCO World titles...as Pidcock will be at the Vuelta.

https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/mathieu-van-der-poel-gaat-via-wk-mountainbike-naar-wk-op-de-weg/

MVP is one of the most skillfull bike riders in the world . Why would he choose to slow down and roll that rock jump even if the ramp had been there ? That would cause him to lose momentum and time when he is quite capable of jumping it like all the rest of the fiel

Looked like he was going to pump down the ramp to me (hence nosediving so hard), which might not have been all that much slower maybe...?

A mountain bike race in 2021 should require full sus and a dropper,

100% agree. If riders (professional or grass roots) don’t like that, they can go to CX - which many of the subjects of this thread also race successfully.

What a load of nonsense. If I want to enter an XC race on a hard-tail with no dropper that is up to me.

If I may backtrack a bit - a full suspension with a dropper should be the ‘ideal solution’ to such a race, rather than mandatory.

Obviously there isn’t anything stopping you (although they may have something to say about your dropped bar fixed gear) but it should be an equipment disadvantage.

One that might be overcome at the amateur by having significantly more skill than your competitors.

ignore

MVP is one of the most skillfull bike riders in the world . Why would he choose to slow down and roll that rock jump even if the ramp had been there ? That would cause him to lose momentum and time when he is quite capable of jumping it like all the rest of the fiel

Looked like he was going to pump down the ramp to me (hence nosediving so hard), which might not have been all that much slower maybe…?

Interesting points.
to add, if he had meant to pump, why would he end up sort of half-jumping it?

Also consider that the women knew it would be in place and many of them effectively did the jump direct to the rocks on landing missing out the ramp anyway.
So rather than anything shady, did VdP just get caught between pumping and jumping and just mess it up? or does it look like he was trying to pump it and ended up pumping thin air?

So rather than anything shady, did VdP just get caught between pumping and jumping and just mess it up? or does it look like he was trying to pump it and ended up pumping thin air?

Or alternately you could just say that he fell off and was therefore not the best rider on the day and did not win as a result.

What a load of nonsense. If I want to enter an XC race on a hard-tail with no dropper that is up to me.

And if you're not able to ride the main lines, take the chicken-lines instead.

I heard that the ramp control on his fork failed.

MvP mis-judged. Did he mean to jump it? Did he mean to roll it? Form his socials I'd say it was a moment of indecision that even he isn't sure of. No mystery, no conspiracy. The guy's human.