Mathieu van der Poel's physio said he believes the Dutch rider needs to rest, for however long it takes, to recover from his back injury. He added the cyclocross world champion was now paying the price for the punishing regime he has put his body through.
Van der Poel's back injury has now been impacting him for months. His Alpecin Fenix team has said it was a problem long before his crash in the MTB race at the Olympics.
While Van der Poel has been back in cyclocross action, and was 2nd at the Dendermonde World Cup race on St Stephen's Day, he took a heavy tumble there.
He started Heusden-Zolder the next day but abandoned after six laps due to back pain. Furthermore, his cyclocross return had followed recovery from another injury, to his knee.
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His team said that after his latest outing Van der Poel was diagnosed with "swelling on an intervertebral disc". He also missed Loenhout this week and will not ride the World Cup race in Hulst on January 2nd.
Van der Poel's participation in the World Cyclocross Championships in the US at the end of January now looks in serious doubt and his physio David Bombeke has said the rider must rest and focus on fully resolving the injury.
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"With everything he's put his body through, between cyclocross, mountain biking and the road, his body is paying the price," he told Het Nieuwsblad.
"It's a little premature to look towards the cyclo-cross Worlds, but it is true that there is not much time left. top to run the worlds, and in my opinion it will be difficult to prepare in a month.
"My personal opinion does not matter, because I am not affiliated with the team, but I think his priority should be rest now , no matter how long it takes."
Van der Poel's sporting director Christoph Roodhooft, who is also co-owner of Alpecin Fenix, said the recovery from injury was much more important than any upcoming cyclocross races.
"This back injury has been bothering him for a while. His fall in the MTB Olympics probably didn't affect the injury, but it sure didn't help," Roodhooft said.
"We're not worried because it doesn't help. The problem will be resolved. The concern is not that Mathieu misses cyclo-cross, but that he is in pain. Because of this persistent pain he cannot be 100 per cent. He cannot train to improve and it is terribly annoying. We will see when his return is possible."
