Mathieu Van der Poel beaten as French riders shine at Les Gets

French mountain bikers strengthened their position ahead of the world championships at Les Gets, while Mathieu Van der Poel suffered a setback in his build-up. The Dutchman was using the World Cup meeting in Haute-Savoie to prepare for the title event at Val di Sole, where he will pursue the only major world crown missing from his collection.

Van der Poel finished 11th in Friday’s short-track race before fading in the final climb of the Olympic-format event. Adrien Boichis took the victory, with Luca Martin completing another French one-two in the short-track race. Boichis has now won six of his 12 races this season. Martin Vidaurre finished on the podium in the longer event, ahead of Luca Martin, while Mathis Azzaro withdrew early after falling ill.

France also claimed its first men’s downhill win of the season through 19-year-old Max Alran, who converted the fastest qualifying time into his first World Cup victory on home soil. Antoine Pierron was fifth and Benoît Coulanges 14th. Marine Cabirou added a women’s downhill podium, finishing behind Britain’s Harriet Harnden, who secured her first World Cup win. Lisa Bouladou and Myriam Nicole placed ninth and 10th.

The world championships run from Aug. 26 to 30 in Italy. Van der Poel is entered for both mountain-bike events, while Thomas Pidcock will contest only the longer race and Victor Koretzky is set to return after a fractured humerus.