"I don't know whether it's worth it to go to Africa" - Mathieu van der Poel may target Mountain Bike Worlds in 2025 over Rwanda road Worlds
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel sensationally secured himself a Gravel World Championship title last weekend, adding that particular Rainbow Jersey to a growing collection that also includes both cyclocross and road race world titles. Now though, the Dutchman may switch targets to another cycling discipline.
With the 2025 road World Championships held on a hilly course in Rwanda, Van der Poel could instead target the Mountain Bike world title, attempting to add another Rainbow Jersey to his palmares in the process. "I don't know whether it's worth it to go to Africa," he admits in conversation with AD. "I have never made a secret of the fact that I also really want that world title mountain bike. It has become a bit difficult, because racing on the road has taken priority. It depends on how I can divide the season exactly, but it would be great if I could finally make it a real goal."
The 2025 Mountain Bike World Championships are held in Zermatt, Switzerland next September and could further strengthen Van der Poel's claim to be the most gifted cross-discipline rider on the planet. Before attention fully turns towards that goal though, a little enjoyment over his most recent success is in order.
"It's nice to end my season with a highlight," he says smiling. "Was it fun? It was mainly incredibly tough. But I did that to myself. I wanted to make it as difficult as possible. When everyone has suffered, it is easier to make a difference at the end... It is becoming a major event. Every top road cyclist is gravelling. Of course, it is also important for the bike sponsor. Circus? It does have its charm.''
2024 Gravel World Championships:
| 1 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | 4:41:23 |
| 2 | VERMEERSCH Florian | 1:03 |
| 3 | HERMANS Quinten | 3:47 |
| 4 | STUYVEN Jasper | ,, |
| 5 | VERMEERSCH Gianni | 3:48 |
| 6 | SWIFT Connor | ,, |
| 7 | MOHORIC Matej | ,, |
| 8 | MERLIER Tim | 4:15 |
| 9 | KIELICH Timo | ,, |
| 10 | AERTS Toon | ,, |
| 11 | MEURISSE Xandro | ,, |
| 12 | LINDBERG Jonas | ,, |
| 13 | GOVEKAR Matevz | 6:06 |
| 14 | OTTEMA Rick | 6:14 |
| 15 | PANHUYZEN Kevin | 6:20 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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Mathieu van der Poel DOMINATES at the UCI Gravel World Championships! 🌈
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