“Do it right” – Annemiek van Vleuten calls out Mathieu van der Poel over mountain bike ambitions

Mathieu van der Poel is heading to the 2025 Tour de France in flying form, but his recent return to mountain biking has drawn criticism from one of cycling;s legends. Annemiek van Vleuten, the now-retired multiple-time world champion, has voiced her doubts about Van der Poel’s approach to his mountain bike ambitions, particularly his dream of winning the mountain bike world title.

Speaking on De Grote Plaat, the podcast hosted by Blaudzun and John den Braber, van Vleuten said she enjoys watching Van der Poel race, especially when he’s on form like he was at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné. But when it comes to mountain biking, she didn’t hold back.

"It's apparently a very big dream of his. Sometimes I think when I see him: if you're going to do something, do it right. If he really wants it, he should take it more seriously," she said, referencing Van der Poel’s relatively casual build-up to past MTB events.

The comments come just weeks after Van der Poel returned to mountain biking in May, only to crash and fracture his wrist, cutting short what was meant to be a key block of preparation.

“He also said very laconically, I only touched it once. But the sport has now developed so far that that is not possible,” van Vleuten added. “I also think it is almost disrespectful to the mountain bikers to come cycling in between them like that.”

Her point isn’t that Van der Poel lacks the ability, she’s adamant he has the talent to win, but that mountain biking now demands full commitment. “I actually think it's great that the mountain bikers show that it's a sport that you have to prepare for seriously. I think it was also in Tokyo that he didn't go for the course and only arrived there quite late. That kind of thing, it's just not possible. You can't just add it on.”

Still, van Vleuten offered a more light-hearted suggestion: “Would Mathieu also ask Puck for advice, how she approaches things?” she said, referring to Dutch mountain bike star Puck Pieterse. “I've had Tom Dumoulin call me for advice in my career, about an altitude training camp or something. I actually say to Mathieu: call Puck, haha.”

Remember, Van der Poel has world titles on the road and gravel, and won a record equalling seventh cyclocross title earlier this year. He has said openly before that the title he wants more than any other is the mountain bike rainbow jersey, but this will be an uphill challenge.

Despite her criticism of his mountain bike planning, van Vleuten had nothing but praise for Van der Poel’s recent road form. “He was really flying into it. If you race like Mathieu does, you can do a good block. And that's hard to imitate in training,” she said of his performances at the Dauphiné.

She suggested that Alpecin-Deceuninck may have deliberately let Van der Poel race more freely after a difficult experience in last year’s Tour de France. “It seemed like he had some kind of agreement with his team. Last year he had so little fun in the Tour de France that it seemed like he had been given a kind of carte blanche to fly into it.”

That freedom, van Vleuten says, is what makes him special. “The Tour de France is a much more controlled race and he can't race there like he did in the Dauphiné and then it's really nice to see Mathieu in such a race where the fun is palpable. That's why I think he's such a great role model. That's how I like to see him best.”