"He hits a spot that remains untouched by the majority of riders" - Oliver Naesen points out what makes Mathieu van der Poel better than most
CyclingWednesday, 29 July 2026 at 13:37
Mathieu van der Poel fell to his knees and then his back as he left every ounce of effort for glory on the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France. Sprinting Tadej Pogacar off his wheel and outlasting the surging sprinters behind, van der Poel pulled off one of his most memorable wins on the biggest stage on Sunday.
Renowned for his remarkable performances of endurance that sees him push the barrier of what his body can withstand, van der Poel has taken similar all-out, emptying the gas tank, victories at Tirreno Adriatico, Amstel Gold Race, the Tour de France and the World Championships.
As well as his ability to rollwith the world's best on punchy, hilly and cobbled terrain, van der Poel's true weapon appears to be his ability to suffer just that bit more than his competitors, with the Paris finale being the best example.
He and Pogacar had grown a small gap over the top of the final Montmartre ascent. However, with ten kilometers remaining and a raging reduced peloton of sprinters in chase, the pair went all-in to try and hold them off.
Turning onto the Champs-Élysées slight uphill drag, van der Poel seemed to blow up the yellow jersey and hold off the sprinters in a photo finish.
Mathieu van der Poel wins on Champs-Élysées
Naesen on what makes van der Poel different
"I wouldn't know what that is," said current Decathlon CMA CGM rider Oliver Naesen in the HLN Cycling Podcast, describing the Dutchman's ability to push the pain threshold.
"It is one of Mathieu van der Poel's great qualities. He can just dig so much deeper than the rest of the riders. I’ve talked about it often with our trainers, because I would love to be able to do that too. He hits a spot that remains untouched by the majority of riders. That you really have to lie down like that after the finish."
"I've seen Van der Poel do this on the Mûr-de-Bretagne and the Amstel Gold Race he won, but this was on another level. It was incredible."
Read also
Former teammate Vermeersch echoes Naesen
His former teammate Gianni Vermeersch echoed Naesen's words on Vive Le Vélo, noting that he had never witnessed anyone leave as much out there as the former world champion does.
"Mathieu has proven that he can also ride a final lap in cyclocross that no one else can. I remember a scene at the Namur Cyclocross, where he lay sprawled on the ground for minutes.
"You sometimes saw that kind of thing from Mathieu in training as well. He can push himself so hard and inflict so much pain on himself in training and in races; I personally haven't seen that in anyone else."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- So you are going back to the late 1990's to prove a point, which you have not proven. I thought you said facts over feelings, new guy..awp29-07-2026
- It's ok, in America we have freedom of speech, so you are covered.awp29-07-2026
- As I said, it's using a few examples that don't compile to an end result but it's certainly close. Concerning bikes from then to now, fatter tires now, they are faster, more aero frames now, a tiny amount faster, weight is the same. They've been doing altitude camps for decades, Lances teams included. Nutrition is better, but lance was a nutrition extremist back then, so other than in race fueling there's not a whole lot of difference. You are missing the first big piece of evidence, that when Lance was 22 his Vo2 system was recorded at 81.2 ml/kg/min. Miracles and fantasies don't happen in procycling. If they did I could have taken my 66 Vo2 system, trained my eyeballs out (which I did anyway) and won the Tour in my twenties.awp29-07-2026
- That is a silly apples to oranges comparison. You give Pogi and all the rest the advantages of modern bicycles, training, fueling and "altitude camps' but compare that to what was being done twenty years ago. Riders from then moved forward in time with all the modern advantages would be just as competitive now. They would just have to adjust to the modern doping techniques compared to what they did then.cdw29-07-2026
- Researchers (e.g., Norwegian Ole Kristian Berg, Pedro L. Valenzuela, Samo Rauter, Tim Podlogar and colleagues) have estimated Pogačar’s VO2 max in the high 90s (around 91–96 ml/kg/min on average, potentially up to 96–102 ml/kg/min) based on his climbing performances in the Tour de France and other races. Feelings don't play into it, only data.awp29-07-2026
- They almost the same personality when you spend time around both of them.textrips29-07-2026
- I hope he does win 7 or 8 then the Lance fan boys can finally shut up.Pedalmasher29-07-2026
- How much time have you spent around Lemond? I beg to differ.textrips29-07-2026
- According to whom? Total BS, you have no idea what anyone’s real VO2 is in the pro peloton. Unless you are the scientist running the test. Facts over feelings.textrips29-07-2026
- Lance's best recorded vo2 max test was when he was 22 at 81.2 ml/kg/min. It's been estimated that Tadej is a 95-96, Jonas is around this same number while Remco is closer to Lemond at 92 or 93. Based on Lances physiology, he would finish thirty minutes to over an hour behind Tadej in this years Tour edition or tenth to fifteenth place. Vo2 max is not everything but it is a key indicator of an athletes potential and while Lance did have talent he was not even close to Tadej. He acknowledges this and I'm not an anti Armstrong guy, I watched all of his Tours and enjoyed them all. The whole peloton was cheating back then and may be cheating now, if they are, we don't know the methods, but I like to think they aren't until they are caught..awp29-07-2026
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