After celebrating at the most prestigious finish line of the Tour de France, Mathieu van der Poel is ready to change scenery once again. From the road to mountain biking, from the Champs-Élysées to the fat tires of Les Gets: the Dutch champion of Alpecin-Premier Tech returns to racing during the World Cup weekend, with his eyes already fixed on the most important appointment of his summer, the World Championship in Val di Sole.

The success achieved in Paris closed off an intense Tour de France in the best possible way, and after the final lap on the iconic Champs-Élysées, Van der Poel allowed himself a few days of well-deserved rest. Then he got back to work, this time with a completely different objective. Mountain biking is not just a parenthesis in his season: it is a discipline that continues to fascinate him and in which he still wants to try to conquer that world title that is missing from his extraordinary collection.

To prepare himself as best as possible, the Dutch champion chose Livigno for an altitude training camp. From there he came directly to Les Gets, where he will face his first real test with mountain biking.

«After the Tour de France and the victory on the Champs-Élysées, I took a few days off to enjoy the moment. Then I got back to training and went to Livigno for an altitude camp, specifically to prepare for this mountain bike block. I came out of the Tour in good shape and I feel I've recovered well».

A brief but targeted preparation, built to arrive ready for the decisive moment. However, Van der Poel doesn't hide the fact that the Les Gets race will mainly serve to understand what his real level is after a period spent almost exclusively on the road bike.

The first appointment was the XCC, scheduled for yesterday: a race that did not represent the real objective of the weekend, but which saw Van der Poel start from the back row and recover positions one after another up to eighth place. An error in the seventh lap dropped him back to 14th place, but MVDP got back to grinding and in the end finished tenth. A placement, achieved in the race won by Frenchman Boichis with Italian Avondetto fifth, which will allow him to start from the second row on Sunday. 

«I came directly from Livigno to Les Gets on Wednesday. Yesterday I raced to try to get a better starting position for Sunday's XCO. That will be the first real test to see where I stand with mountain biking. Next week, at the World Championships in Val di Sole, I won't race the XCC. The regulations are different, so I'll still have to start from the fifth row in the XCO. Obviously this won't make things easier, but for now my attention is focused on Les Gets».

The starting position will therefore be a factor not to be underestimated in Val di Sole. Van der Poel knows that starting from the fifth row could complicate his race, especially on a course where it will be necessary to quickly find rhythm and move up positions without wasting too much energy.

Van der Poel is no stranger to mountain biking. It is a discipline that is part of his history and which, despite the many successes achieved on the road and in cyclocross, continues to represent an unresolved challenge. The dream of becoming world champion in this specialty is still there. And the passing years don't seem to have diminished it.

«For me it's also more fun to train in mountain biking and I always enjoy coming back here. It's a somewhat more relaxed environment, but at the same time it represents an additional challenge. Trying to become world champion in this discipline is still a major goal. I still have a few years ahead of me and I want to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way».

Perhaps this is the meaning of his new adventure. Van der Poel doesn't need to prove anything more on the road: he has won Monuments, World Championships, Tour stages and, once again, has conquered the Champs-Élysées. But mountain biking continues to offer him something that professional sport rarely grants: a new challenge, a terrain where he hasn't yet reached the finish line he desires. And tomorrow at Les Gets that will be precisely the point: to understand how close he is to the best.

The XCO will, however, require a completely different management compared to road races. It won't be enough to have the legs to attack. You'll also need to know how to ration your energy, especially considering the particular preparation and the recent transition from the Tour to mountain biking.

Van der Poel knows well that the temptation to push to the maximum will be strong, but the key word will be just one: management. «The strategy for Sunday will depend on how I feel and what legs I have that day. The key will be not to exhaust my energy. This is the most important thing. Les Gets is just below the altitude where you really start to feel the difference, but you can feel it a bit when you go too deep».

No promises, then. No proclamations. Just the desire to understand. After the triumph in Paris, Van der Poel starts again from Les Gets. The Tour is now behind him, the rest is over and ahead are the mountains, trails and mud of mountain biking. Sunday will bring the first answers.

But the real appointment is already circled in red on the calendar: Val di Sole, late August. There Mathieu van der Poel will try once again to chase that world title which, despite a trophy case full of golds, continues to be missing.

And perhaps it is precisely this unresolved desire that makes his new challenge even more fascinating.