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> Mathieu van der Poel will not defend his world gravel title in Limburg in October. "I'm putting the bike aside for a bit," he told NOS after his disappointing 29th-place finish. This means he will also be skipping the European Road Championships, scheduled for early next month in France.

> I wasn't having a good day," Van der Poel confirmed afterward, confirming what everyone had already seen. "I haven't been feeling well for a while. The start was a dream scenario, but after that, it was a long race mentally. But mountain biking is the only discipline where it's still fun to ride around."

> My legs were really bad, but I still tried to enjoy it a bit," said Van der Poel, who certainly isn't giving up on his mountain biking dream. "I still have a few years to go, we'll keep trying."