It is surprising to see a rider of this caliber struggle so much in Val di Sole. Tom Pidcock won the race, but Van der Poel finished 30th. This follows a similar pattern from the 2025 championships where he finished 29th. Both riders started from the same row, yet the results were poles apart.
It is hard to wrap my head around why someone with his engine and skill set cannot seem to peak for this specific event. He is now shifting his focus toward the road world championships in Montreal, where he typically finds more success. Given his dominance in other disciplines, the gap between his potential and these specific results is glaring.
Why does a rider of this caliber consistently fail to peak specifically for the MTB World Championships?
Val di Sole is a brutal course that punishes anything that is not perfectly dialed. A rider with a massive engine can still get hammered if the bike setup is off by a fraction. When you have that much power, the margin between a winning run and a 30th place finish often comes down to how the suspension handles the successive hits; too slow on the rebound and the shock packs down, killing your momentum on the technical sections. If the geometry or the spring rate is not matched exactly to that specific terrain, all that fitness just goes out the window.
That is a fair point, though it is wild to think that someone with his level of experience could be that far off on the setup. It seems like a lot to leave to chance, but I guess when the margins are that slim, a slightly off rebound setting really could be the difference between a podium and 30th place.
It is not necessarily a matter of leaving it to chance, but rather how specific a track can be. On a brutal course, the difference between a bike that tracks perfectly and one that fights you is tiny. If the rebound is just a click too slow, the suspension packs down over successive hits, and you lose all your momentum in the technical sections. No amount of fitness can override a bike that is fighting the terrain.
That is a sobering thought. It really puts into perspective how a tiny mechanical detail, like a single click of rebound, can completely neutralize a world class engine. If the bike is actively fighting the terrain, it doesn't matter how much power you can put down; you just can't maintain the flow needed for a top result.
It is a similar story with road setups. You can have the biggest engine in the world, but if you are fighting the bike because you are over-geared on a steep grade, you lose all your momentum. Efficiency is everything; whether it is a click of rebound or just having the right low gear to keep the cadence up, the mechanical side has to be dialed in or the fitness is wasted.
