The 5th place obtained at the recent XCO Under 23 World Championships in Glasgow by Tom Schellekens was very important for the Netherlands, even if it will have gone unnoticed by many but not by Mathieu Van der Poel who will welcome his compatriot .
Why this? Because thanks to the result of the young Dutchman, Holland is back in the Olympic ranking with the points necessary to guarantee participation in Paris 2024 with an athlete. At the moment Van der Poel, who won the title of world champion in road cycling, can rest assured and not necessarily enter the XCO World Cup to earn useful points.
For the record, Tom Schellekens has recently signed a contract with Jumbo-Visma. He will continue to focus on Mtb, but will also start cycling on the road.
My goal was to get into the top five and I succeeded. During the race I did everything right. The fact that he brought an Olympic pass is great for our country. It is more than right that Mathieu van der Poel goes to Paris, I certainly cannot think of equaling him. I will be racing in the Under 23s for a few more years, so it would be very unrealistic to already be at the top of the elite – Tom Schellekens
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL FALL 2023 RACE CALENDAR
Van Der Poel will now only make a stop on the MTB for the test on the Paris 2024 Olympic circuit on September 23rd. The rest of the effort will be on the road.
